Keepsake – Lake Erie Schooner Shipwreck (1911)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Keepsake
• Type: Wooden scow-schooner
• Year Built: 1880
• Builder: W. Miller, River Puce, Ontario
• Dimensions: ~73 ft (22.25 m) long × 20 ft (6.1 m) beam × 4 ft (1.22 m) depth; 45 gross tons (45 net)
• Registered Tonnage: 45 gross tons (45 net)
• Location: Gull Island Reef, Lake Erie
• Official Number: C80573
• Original Owners: Henry Fleury of Belle River, Ontario (last documented ownership)

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

• Scow-schooner (flat-bottomed, shallow-draft) terrestrial design ideal for light freight in coastal trading lanes on Lake Erie.

Description

Built in 1880 by W. Miller in River Puce, Ontario, Keepsake was a modest wooden cargo vessel tailored to local inter-island commerce, with a small hull and shallow draft suited for Pelee Island–Cedar Point transit routes.

History

Operated out of Chicago or Belle River Ontario, carrying light freight among ports in Lake Erie. Her final documented ownership was under Henry Fleury of Belle River, Ont. No earlier incidents or name changes found.

Significant Incidents

• In August 1911 Keepsake departed Pelee Island for Cedar Point.
• In foggy conditions near Gull Island Reef, she ran aground and then foundered. The hull capsized or sank offshore. Her outfit was removed beforehand, but salvage was impeded by storm onset.
• The crew was rescued by Marblehead Lifesavers; no lives were lost.
• She was ultimately towed upside-down to Milwaukee and abandoned on a beach to break up naturally.

Final Disposition

After the grounding, the crew was rescued, and the vessel was abandoned after salvage attempts were hindered by weather conditions. The wreck remains unexamined by modern surveys.

Current Condition & Accessibility

There has been no known modern survey or archaeological rediscovery of the wreck site. The remains likely lie across Gull Island Reef or nearby shoals between Pelee Island and Kelleys Island, submerged in western Lake Erie.

Resources & Links

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Keepsake was a modest wooden scow-schooner built in 1880 and lost on 12 August 1911 after grounding on Gull Island Reef in Lake Erie. Her crew survived, aided by the Marblehead Lifesaving Service, but the vessel was abandoned after salvage proved unfeasible. While her size and cargo were minor, the incident illustrates navigational hazards in the western Lake Erie archipelago, especially under fog and sudden storms. The wreck remains undocumented archaeologically, representing an opportunity for historical maritime research or sonar survey in the reef area.