Legacy Notes & Full Historical Record

This section preserves the original unedited Shotline content for this wreck so that no historical detail is lost as we transition to the new logbook format.

Identification & Site Information

• Name: Manistique
• Official Number: 96860 (U.S.–Canadian registry change confirmed)
• Year Built: 1882
• Place Built: Gibraltar, Michigan (by Linn & Craig)
• Final Location: Lake Huron
• Final Disposition: Burned and scuttled, October 18, 1933
• Latest Registered Dimensions (post-rebuild): 151 ft × 31 ft × 13 ft, 474 gross tons (548 initially)

Vessel Type & Description

A wooden-hulled screw steamer equipped with a sizable steam engine (21″ × 37″ × 36″), well-suited for heavy freight and salvage operations. She measured around 150 ft in length, indicative of a robust mid-size Great Lakes cargo vessel. Originally built in 1882, she appears to have undergone at least one major rebuild extending her service life into the early 20th century.

Construction & Ownership History

• 1882: Launched by Linn & Craig at Gibraltar, MI. Engine sourced from Detroit Drydock & Engineering Co.
• 1907: Owned by Sarnia Bay Towage & Salvage Co.
• 1928: Ownership transferred to Reid Towing & Wrecking Co., Sarnia.
• 1929: Transferred to Sincennes-McNaughton, a major Canadian salvage and towing firm.
• After this last transfer, she was apparently not employed by Sin-Mac—records suggest disuse.
• On October 18, 1933, Manistique was intentionally burned and scuttled in Lake Huron by Sincennes-McNaughton. The burn appears to have been a deliberate wrecking strategy to dispose of the vessel. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)

Final Disposition Details

The scuttling date, recorded as 18 October 1933, indicates that the vessel’s hull was destroyed via fire and then sunk purposely. This was likely a cost-saving measure versus attempting costly salvage. The location in Lake Huron, however, is not precisely defined—no sonar records or coordinate logs appear in public wreck databases. This suggests the wreck remains uncharted or lies in deeper water.

Wreck Status & Site Condition

• Unknown exact location: Without hydrographic survey corroboration, the wreck remains unverified by divers or authoritative wreck registries.
• Presumed state: Likely fragmented due to fire, possibly scattered on the lakebed. Its sinking wasn’t registered as hazardous, implying it was deep enough or deliberately sunk in a non-navigable zone.

Recommended further steps:

1. Investigate Sincennes-McNaughton internal archives (if preserved) for scuttling logs or coordinates.
2. Examine Great Lakes Hydrographic surveys from the early 1930s.
3. Search Department of Marine & Fisheries Canadian records for Notices to Mariners in October 1933.
4. Engage sonar surveys in mid-Lake Huron at likely deep-water disposal areas.

Navigational Notices

No Notices to Mariners or hazard warnings have been located. Her scuttling was likely carried out officially, minimizing navigational impact—a standard disposal protocol of the time.

Sources & Archives

• GreatLakesRex “M – Great Lakes Shipwreck Files” – provides scuttling, build, and ownership timeline (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Further research venues:
  • Archives of Sincennes‑McNaughton (labour logs, disposal records)
  • Canadian Notices to Mariners Q4 1933
  • Hydrographic survey maps from Department of Marine and Fisheries (early 1930s)

Conclusion

The Manistique was a durable wooden screw steamer built in 1882 and refitted once before her final years as a salvage/towing vessel. A long career culminated in intentional disposal by fire and scuttling in Lake Huron on October 18, 1933. She remains a prospective wreck site but lacks precise location data. Locating her resting place would require targeted archival digging and sonar research—potentially rewarding for maritime archaeologists and historians interested in Great Lakes ship disposal practices of the early 20th century.

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