Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: LAKE MICHIGAN
• Type: Wooden Package Freighter (Later Converted to Stone Carrier)
• Year Built: 1872
• Builder: Melancthon Simpson, St. Catharines, Ontario
• Dimensions: 196 ft (59.7 m); Beam 24 ft (7.3 m); Depth of hold 7 ft (2.1 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 693 gross tons, 440 net tons
• Location: Toronto, Ontario, Lake Ontario
• Official Number: 88537
• Original Owners: Lake & River Steamship Co., Hamilton, Ontario

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Wooden Package Freighter (Converted to Stone Carrier in Later Years)

Description

The LAKE MICHIGAN was a wooden package freighter, built in 1872 in St. Catharines, Ontario, as part of a fleet that included similar vessels, such as LAKE ERIE and LAKE ONTARIO. Initially, she was used for freight and passenger service, running Montreal to Chicago and serving ports such as Toronto, Hamilton, and St. Catharines.

Over the years, she underwent several ownership changes, a major rebuild in 1890, and was eventually converted into a stone carrier after suffering fire damage in 1911.

By 1920, she was retired and dismantled in Toronto.

History

By 1925, LAKE MICHIGAN was no longer in active service.

Rather than leaving her to deteriorate in a shipyard, she was scuttled in Toronto Harbour, a common disposal method for obsolete vessels at the time. The remains of her wooden hull were buried in harbour redevelopment projects in 1926.

Her registry was officially closed in 1938.

Significant Incidents

• No casualties
• Officially removed from the ship registry in 1938
• Hull remains under modern landfills or structures

Final Disposition

Scuttled and buried in Toronto Harbour during redevelopment in 1925.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Hull remains may still exist beneath landfill areas of Toronto’s waterfront. However, due to extensive urban redevelopment, finding the wreck is unlikely.

Resources & Links

The LAKE MICHIGAN was a workhorse of the Great Lakes, operating for over 50 years in freight and passenger service, before being converted into a stone carrier and eventually retired and scuttled in Toronto.

While her remains are likely lost beneath modern development, her long career highlights the evolution of shipping on the Great Lakes, from wooden package freighters to industrial stone carriers.