Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Laura Miller
- Type: Schooner
- Year Built: 1886
- Builder: Chicago
- Dimensions: 75 ft × 19 ft × 6 ft (23 m × 5.8 m × 1.8 m)
- Registered Tonnage: 56 grt, 53 nrt
- Location: Approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) NW of Toledo gas buoy, Lake Erie
- Official Number: 140856
- Number of Masts: Two
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
A wooden two-masted schooner—from the late-age sail fleet—used primarily as a coal transport barge, operating in tow of tugs in the Lower Great Lakes.
Description
Constructed of robust timber framing, with a typical cargo hold for coal and equipped with twin masts. Designed for inshore towing rather than independent sail, with simplified rigging.
History
Built in Chicago in 1886, Laura Miller was intended for tow service, ferrying coal on Lake Erie. On 8 October 1899, while bound for Port Huron under tow by the tug Higgie, she encountered a severe gale. The storm caused rapid foundering but crew survived. The tow-barge Quimby rescued them by approximately 1200 hours the same day.
The vessel had a checkered prior record: stranded at Glencoe, Illinois in 1889; sank in storms off Grand Haven in 1894; and grounded near Mackinaw City in 1896. Despite multiple damages, she returned to service until her final loss.
Significant Incidents
- Stranded at Glencoe, Illinois in 1889.
- Sank in storms off Grand Haven in 1894.
- Grounded near Mackinaw City in 1896.
Final Disposition
Foundered and sunk in open water. No salvage operations recorded; her registry was surrendered on date of loss.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No wreck identification or discovery has been recorded. The wreck remains “presumed lost” in deep offshore waters and is not documented.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”laura-miller-us-140856″ title=”References & Links”]
Laura Miller exemplifies the small tow-schooners critical to late-19th-century coal transport on the Great Lakes. Her multiple groundings reflect navigational hazards near shallow ports and weather, culminating in the fatal gale of 1899. While her crew survived, the wreck remains lost, an underwater relic of sail-era logistics. With few technical details available, locating her would require targeted deep-water sonar surveying near the sinking coordinates.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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