Shotline Diving

Connecting You to the Depths of the Great Lakes

Schuylkill US 115145

Explore the wreck of the Schuylkill, a wooden schooner lost in 1889, now a historical site illustrating late-19th-century maritime hazards on Lake Superior.

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

  • Name: Schuylkill
  • Type: Schooner
  • Year Built: 1873
  • Builder: Gibson, Buffalo, NY
  • Dimensions: 152 × 31 × 12 ft (46 × 9.4 × 3.7 m); gross tonnage 472 ft
  • Registered Tonnage: 472 ft
  • Location: Near entrance to Portage Ship Canal, Keweenaw Peninsula
  • Official Number: 115145

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Wooden-hulled schooner designed for bulk freight—primarily carrying iron ore on Lake Superior.

Description

A classic Great Lakes schooner-rigged vessel, built of wood with a single deck, center cargo hold, and fore-and-aft sail rig. It hauled iron ore, no additional propulsion machinery.

History

  • Operational Role: Transported iron ore from Lake Superior ports (e.g., Ashland, WI) often as tow consort alongside steam vessels like Bessemer.
  • Voyage Details: On 5 Oct 1889, Schuylkill was being towed by the steamer-barge Bessemer from Ashland to Cleveland loaded with iron ore.

Significant Incidents

  • Cause: Encountered a sudden NW gale with heavy seas and snow squalls; both vessels sought shelter at the Portage Ship Canal entrance.
  • Grounding & Breakup: Both Schuylkill and Bessemer grounded on the breakwater reef, colliding under wave action; structural stress caused rapid breakup.
  • Casualties: No loss of life; crew escaped by jumping onto the breakwater.

Final Disposition

Wreckage partly blocked the canal until cleared with dynamite the following fall. Remains were subsequently broken up or pushed off reef.

Current Condition & Accessibility

  • Discovery: Early records confirm wrecking, but no modern rediscovery information is available—site likely too shallow and disturbed.
  • Condition: Likely severely broken-up on breakwater reef; only fragments may remain.

Resources & Links

The loss of the Schuylkill exemplifies late-19th-century maritime hazards on Lake Superior—iron-ore schooners towed in convoy during early-season gales. Though decomposed and disturbed, the wreck remains an important historical incident, illustrating tow logistics and canal navigation hazards of the era.