Scandinavian (1862)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Scandinavian
• Type: Schooner
• Year Built: 1862
• Builder:
• Dimensions: Length X ft (Y m); Beam; Depth of hold
• Registered Tonnage: 200-300 tons (estimated)
• Location: Offshore near point of grounding (specific shore not recorded)
• Original Owners: Likely based in Erie, Pennsylvania
• Number of Masts: Two-masted

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

• Presumed two-masted wooden schooner optimized for grain transport on the Great Lakes (typical for 1860s Chicago–Erie traffic)

Description

• No builder records, tonnage, or dimensions located
• Capable of carrying ~13,000 bu grain—suggest likely gross tonnage of 200–300 tons, flat-bottomed, canal-style hull common to that era

History

• Operated between Chicago and Erie hauling grain in the late 1860s
• Official enrollment and ownership records not yet located
• No prior incidents documented

Significant Incidents

• Grounding during gale on 31 October 1868
• Cargo: Grain (13,000 bushels)
• Casualties: None; crew survived
• No insurance or salvage records publicly found

Final Disposition

• No modern rediscovery recorded
• Wreck is presumed offshore near point of grounding, but no archaeological survey exists

Current Condition & Accessibility

• No official Notices to Mariners or later hazard bulletins documented beyond the fact entry in shipwreck listings such as “List of shipwrecks in 1868”

Resources & Links

[shotline_reference_links slug=”scandinavian-1862″ title=”References & Links”]

Scandinavian was a Chicago-registered grain schooner built in 1862, lost in a gale on 31 October 1868 while bound for Erie. Despite complete wreckage, all crew survived. Key construction, ownership, and localization details remain unknown. The lack of survey, dive site records, or modern documentation indicates a Probable wreck—unlocated but historically documented.