Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Theresa
- Type: Yacht / small workboat
- Year Built: Unknown (late 19th or early 20th c. likely)
- Builder: Unknown
- Dimensions: Unknown (no record of length / beam)
- Registered Tonnage: Unknown
- Location: Magnetawan River, Ontario
- Coordinates: Unknown
- Official Number: Unknown
- Original Owners: Mutchenbaker family (initial), later Magnetewan Hardwood Company / Magnetewan River & Lakes Steamboat Line
- Number of Masts: Unknown
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
Theresa was originally built as a private yacht for the Mutchenbaker family of Rosseau Falls. Her structure likely was timber-built (wood hull), with modest dimensions suitable for pleasure cruising on the Muskoka lakes and sheltered waters.
Description
Theresa was originally built (date unknown) as a private yacht for the Mutchenbaker family of Rosseau Falls (north shore of Lake Rosseau). Her structure likely was timber-built (wood hull), with modest dimensions suitable for pleasure cruising on the Muskoka lakes and sheltered waters. Her propulsion might have been steam or small internal combustion (or a conversion), though no documentation confirms this. Later in life, she was adapted to lighter work: hauling logs, towing, or serving as a workboat on the Magnetawan River system.
History
Early Life (as yacht / pleasure vessel). The Mutchenbaker family, operators of a local sawmill at Rosseau Falls, commissioned or purchased Theresa for personal and recreational use. She would have served on Lake Rosseau and adjacent waterways, facilitating family outings, cruising among the lakes, and perhaps occasional transport of small timber consignments.
Incident and change in use. During her time with the Mutchenbakers, a tragic event occurred: a young family member fell overboard and drowned. After that, the vessel’s prestige and role in the family may have diminished. According to local recollections, “days out on the water never felt the same thereafter.”
Eventually, the vessel was sold and moved north into the Magnetawan River watershed. There she entered service with the Magnetewan Hardwood Company and later the Magnetewan River & Lakes Steamboat Line, primarily hauling logs or timber rafts. Over the decades she plied the riverine trade, likely under gradual deterioration and repurposing, until around 1920 she was simply abandoned, left to decay in situ.
Significant Incidents
- Tragic drowning of a youth from the Mutchenbaker family while aboard Theresa.
Final Disposition
The “loss” of Theresa was not by dramatic wreck or sinking in a storm but rather by abandonment. By about 1920 she was discarded and left in the river to rot. She was not formally salvaged (as far as records show). Over time, structural collapse, decay, and possibly scavenging of metal fittings likely reduced her remains to little more than submerged timbers or rotting hull sections.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No known formal discovery or diving survey has been documented. The memory of her existence and location survives in local historical accounts and oral tradition. Given her likely shallow, near-shore riverine remains, any hazard would be local and ephemeral.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”theresa” title=”References & Links”]
The only recorded casualty is the youth from the Mutchenbaker family who fell overboard and drowned while aboard Theresa. No burial or memorial details are referenced in the accounts consulted. Further genealogical or local historical research might locate more.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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