M. J. Cummings – Lake Michigan Schooner Shipwreck (1893)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: M.J. Cummings
• Type: Schooner
• Year Built: 1874
• Builder: George Goble at Oswego, New York
• Dimensions: Length: 137.9 ft (42.0 m); Beam: 26 ft (7.9 m); Depth of hold: 11.8 ft (3.6 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 330.12 tons
• Depth at Wreck Site: 5.5 m / 18 ft
• Location: Off Milwaukee Harbor, Lake Michigan
• Coordinates: N 43° 01.325' / W 087° 52.613'
• Official Number: 90592
• Original Owners: Golbe & McFarlane, Daniel Lyons, E. Caulfield, Lyon’s Estate
• Number of Masts: 3

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

• Class: Schooner
• Rig: 3-masted schooner
• Intended Use: Cargo transport (coal)

Description

The M.J. Cummings was a wooden, three-masted schooner built in 1874 by George Goble at Oswego, New York, with assistance from Globe & MacFarlane.

• Dimensions:
  • Length: 137.9 ft (42.0 m)
  • Beam: 26 ft (7.9 m)
  • Depth of Hold: 11.8 ft (3.6 m)
• Gross Tonnage: 330.12 tons
• Construction: Full canal-size wooden hull, single deck
• Propulsion: Sail only
• Notable Features: Designed for the coal and bulk trade; rated A2 by Inland Lloyd’s

History

• Original Owners: Golbe & McFarlane, Daniel Lyons, and E. Caulfield
• Final Owner: Lyon’s Estate
• Home Port: Buffalo, New York
• Cargo History: Primarily coal; served the Great Lakes coal route to Racine, Wisconsin
• Crew Casualties: 6 of 8 lost
• Document of Enrollment Surrendered: Buffalo, 30 April 1897 – “Vessel Lost”

The schooner spent its 20-year career in the coal and grain trade, operating between Buffalo and western Lake Michigan ports.

Significant Incidents

On 18 May 1894, the M.J. Cummings was heavily laden with coal and bound for Racine. Approaching Milwaukee Harbor, the captain declined to enter due to poor weather, opting to ride at anchor outside the harbor.

• Sequence of Events:
  1. Anchors failed; vessel drifted toward the beach south of Milwaukee piers.
  2. Crew attempted to scuttle the ship to prevent breaking up; cut a hole in the forward hull.
  3. Stern struck bottom, driving the rudder through its casing into the hull.
  4. Ship sank in 18 ft of water, throwing crew into the rigging.

The U.S. Life-Saving Service (District 11) launched a lifeboat rescue:

• Lifeboat swamped in heavy seas; 6 of 8 crew perished.
• On 20 May, two bodies were recovered lashed to the rigging.
• Casualties were documented in the USLSS Annual Report (1894).

Final Disposition

• Vessel foundered in shallow water and partially broke up.
• Not officially salvaged; records indicate abandonment and total loss.
• No insurance recorded for cargo or hull.

Current Condition & Accessibility

• Wreck not definitively located.
• In 1982, diver Kim Stabelfeldt observed a shadow of a wreck near the old Milwaukee Electric Plant, approx. 1,500–2,000 ft off the beach and east of the breakwall.
• No confirmed archaeological survey has been published.

Resources & Links

[shotline_reference_links slug=”m-j-cummings-us-90592″ title=”References & Links”]

The M.J. Cummings represents a classic late 19th-century canal-size schooner lost during the decline of the sail-powered coal trade on Lake Michigan. Her story is a tragic reminder of the risks faced by sailors during transitional years of Great Lakes shipping. Archaeological documentation would provide significant insight into wooden schooner construction and final-period Great Lakes sailing trade.