Rambler (1847)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Rambler
• Type: Scow Schooner
• Year Built: 1847
• Builder: Conrad & Reed
• Dimensions: Length: 88 ft 6 in (27 m); Beam: 22 ft (6.7 m); Depth of hold: 7 ft 10 in (2.4 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 137.68 tons
• Location: Cooley's Pier, Lake Michigan
• Original Owners: Conrad Reed, H. Root & Thomas P. Folger; later Benjamin F. Flint & Charles Becker; R. Campbell; Henry M. Markle; C. Davis; Hugh Hughes; Peter Dunne
• Number of Masts: 2

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

A scow schooner—a flat-bottomed, broad-beamed sailing vessel with shallow draft—designed for hauling bulk cargo like lumber and stone, often in sheltered lakes and river harbors.

Description

Robust timber-built hull with a scow-style bow for maximizing cargo capacity while maintaining shallow water operability. Rigged as a two-masted schooner, typically with fore-and-aft sails and minimal outfitting to enhance cargo space.

History

• 1847 (June): Launched by Conrad & Reed, Black River, OH; owned by Conrad Reed, H. Root & Thomas P. Folger.
• 1849–1853: Ownership transitioned several times—e.g., in 1851 to Benjamin F. Flint & Charles Becker of Elyria, OH; and in 1852 to R. Campbell of Oberlin, OH.
• 1853 (Oct 25): Collided with schooner Dawn on Lake Erie and underwent repairs.
• 1854–55: Relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin—first owned by Henry M. Markle, then C. Davis by April 1855.
• 1855 (May 31): Went ashore at Michigan City, Indiana, while carrying lumber; stripped and abandoned for several months.
• 1855 (Sept): Refloated; subsequently owned by Hugh Hughes, Racine, WI (from September 1856).
• 1857–59: Experienced groundings near Milwaukee (Apr 1857) and Chicago (Dec 1857); later returned to Hugh Hughes and then to Peter Dunne, Chicago (Feb 1864).
• 1860–62: Beached and significantly damaged in the St. Clair River, followed by major repairs (Sept 1860, then 1862).
• 1865 (Apr): Remeasured at 105.9 gross tons.
• 1865 (Oct): Wrecked on Cooley’s Pier, Lake Michigan; described as “total wreck.”
• 1876: Official documentation surrendered marked “exempt.”

Significant Incidents

• Collided with the schooner Dawn on Lake Erie in 1853.
• Grounded multiple times near Milwaukee and Chicago between 1857 and 1859.
• Beached and damaged in the St. Clair River in 1860 and 1862.

Final Disposition

• Date: October 1865 (exact date unspecified)
• Location: Cooley’s Pier, Lake Michigan
• Fate: Driven onto pier during a voyage; sustained irreparable structural damage and was declared a total loss.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Not located underwater—the Rambler was wrecked on a pier and subsequently dismantled or left above water. No submerged remains exist.

Resources & Links

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The Rambler exemplified the rugged, utilitarian scow schooners of the mid-1800s Great Lakes trade. Despite repeated groundings and collisions, she remained operational for nearly two decades. Her final loss in 1865 at Cooley’s Pier stands as the culmination of her hard-lived maritime career. With no extant remains, her legacy endures through registry records and wreck reports illustrating the hazardous nature of shallow-draft commerce vessels of the era.