Newaygo US 130488

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Newaygo
• Type: Freighter
• Year Built: 1890
• Builder: A. Anderson, Marine City, Michigan
• Dimensions: Length: 196 ft (59.7 m); Beam: 37 ft (11.3 m); Depth of hold: 13 ft (4.0 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 906 GRT
• Location: Devil’s Reef, north of Tobermory, Ontario
• Official Number: U.S. Official No. 130488
• Original Owners: Henry McMorran, Port Huron, Michigan
• Number of Masts: None

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Wooden-hulled propeller-driven steam bulk freighter, adapted for coal and lumber cargo. Designed for heavy-haul runs with towing capacity.

Description

The Newaygo was a steam-powered wooden freight carrier, robustly constructed for coal and lumber transit across the upper Great Lakes. She operated with a broad beam and moderate draft, enabling access to shallower regional ports. At the time of her loss, she was towing the barge Checotah, a common configuration for efficient freight hauling.

History

Owned by Henry McMorran of Port Huron, Michigan, the Newaygo operated primarily in the northern Great Lakes, particularly Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. On her final voyage in November 1903, she departed Cleveland, Ohio, upbound to the French River.

Navigating Georgian Bay, she entered a severe early-winter gale—accompanied by a blinding blizzard—that rendered visibility almost nonexistent. Amid the storm, the Newaygo missed the channel near Devil’s Reef and went hard aground on the shoal north of Tobermory.

Despite the violence of the storm, the crew survived. However, with repeated wave action and gale-driven pounding, the Newaygo broke apart, her machinery and cargo scattered across Devil’s Reef and nearby shoals. She was declared a total loss.

Significant Incidents

• Grounded on Devil’s Reef during a severe blizzard on November 17, 1903.
• Wreckage scattered across the reef, with no salvage efforts recorded.

Final Disposition

Destroyed and scattered on Devil’s Reef, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest of Tobermory, Ontario. No salvage efforts were recorded.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Wreckage is reported scattered across Devil’s Reef, though no formal survey or dive has been publicly documented. No GPS coordinates are available in dive logs.

Resources & Links

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The Newaygo‘s demise is an instructive case of navigational vulnerability during early winter storms on Georgian Bay. She exemplifies the freight-bearing wooden steamers of the turn of the century—dependable under normal conditions, but overwhelmed in nature’s extremes. The grounding and destruction of Newaygo on Devil’s Reef is one of the numerous losses in this hazardous corridor near Tobermory.