Shotline Diving

Connecting You to the Depths of the Great Lakes

William Lewis US 26245

Explore the remains of the Wm. Lewis, a mid-19th century brigantine turned schooner, scuttled in Buffalo’s Blackwell Canal in 1878.

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

  • Name: Wm. Lewis
  • Type: Brigantine / Schooner
  • Year Built: 1855
  • Builder: G. R. Rogers, Oswego, NY
  • Dimensions: 128.7 × 25.4 × 9.9 ft (39.2 × 7.7 × 3 m); Beam; Depth of hold
  • Registered Tonnage: 238 gross tons
  • Location: Blackwell Canal, Buffalo, NY
  • Official Number: 26245
  • Original Owners: William Lewis & Charles Parker, Oswego, NY
  • Number of Masts: Two

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Two-masted brigantine, later re-rigged as a schooner in 1870.

Description

All-wood construction, single deck vessel, adapted to both bow-centerboard design and later schooner rig.

History

Operational Chronology:

  • 1855: Launched Sept 1 at Oswego, NY; initially used in Saginaw → Cleveland lumber trade.
  • 1860: Broke centerboard on Lake Erie; underwent large repairs in 1861 and again in 1864.
  • 1867, Sep 5: Owned out of Detroit; went ashore on East Sister Island.
  • 1869, Nov: Lost masts in gale on Lake Erie.
  • 1870: Re-rigged as two-masted schooner structure.
  • Subsequently owned in Buffalo, NY (1876–82) under several captains (e.g. Joseph Sloan, S. Hill).

Home Ports: Detroit in the 1860s, Buffalo during the late 1870s into 1880s; enrolled at Port Huron, MI in 1882.

Significant Incidents

Final Disposition & Sinking:

In July 1878, while moored in Buffalo’s Blackwell Canal, the Wm. Lewis was scuttled to avoid constant pumping. She slipped into deeper water during the night, dragging along and smashing the jibboom of the neighboring schooner Sasco.

No record of salvage or re-entry exists; she disappears from formal vessel lists after approximately 1883.

Crew and Casualties: No documented loss of life is associated with this scuttling event. No crew manifest or fatality records have been found.

Final Disposition

Reportedly lies toward deeper portion of Blackwell Canal (Buffalo, NY); not confirmed as a maritime hazard or marked in later Notitia to Mariners publications. Site Condition: Likely collapsed wooden hull fragments, jibboom debris—but not formally surveyed or explored by archaeologists.

Current Condition & Accessibility

No official hazard bulletins or maritime advisories recorded—incident appears to have been local and non-navigational impact only.

Resources & Links

References are being reviewed for this wreck.

Wm. Lewis (built 1855) exemplifies a mid-19th century Great Lakes brigantine/schooner that remained in trade for over two decades, undergoing multiple repairs, re-rigging, and ownership transfers. Her intentional sinking in 1878 appears procedural rather than catastrophe-driven. The absence of fatalities or insurance/legal records suggests a controlled decommission. From an archaeological standpoint, her remains—if located—could yield insights into mid-19th century canal mooring practices and vessel abandonment.