List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes

Map of the shipwrecks in the Great Storm of 1913

The Great Lakes, a collection of five freshwater lakes located in North America, have been sailed upon since at least the 17th century, and thousands of ships have been sunk while traversing them. Many of these ships were never found, so the exact number of shipwrecks in the Lakes is unknown; the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum approximates 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives lost,^[1] while historian and mariner Mark Thompson has estimated that the total number of wrecks is likely more than 25,000.^[2] In the period between 1816, when the Invincible was lost, to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, the Whitefish Point area alone has claimed at least 240 ships.^[2]

Lake Superior

Lake Huron

Lake Michigan

Lake Erie

Lake Ontario

Largest wrecks

See also

• Graveyard of the Great Lakes
• List of shipwrecks of western Lake Superior
• List of Great Lakes shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places

References

1. "The Great Lakes Mariners Memorial". Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Archived from the original on 17 December 2009.
2. Thompson, Mark L. (2000). Graveyard of the Lakes. Wayne State University Press, Detroit. pp. 17, 18, 22, 315, 317–330. ISBN 978-0-8143-3226-9.
3. Great Lakes Shipwreck society website accessed 30-5-2024
4. Krueger, Andrew (13 September 2016). "'Spectacularly intact': 119-year-old shipwreck found near Apostle Islands". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
5. "Benjamin Noble Shipwreck Found". Lakesuperior.com. 19 July 2005. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
6. "U.S.S. Essex". Lake Superior Shipwrecks. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
7. "J. S. Seaverns (Propeller), sunk, 10 May 1884". Retrieved 30 November 2023 – via Maritime History of the Great Lakes.
8. Krueger, Andrew (15 November 2016) [Originally published November 2, 2016]. "Lake Superior shipwreck discovered, and even the dishes survived". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
9. "Great Lakes Vessels Online Index". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
10. Meverden, Keith; Tamara Thomsen (January 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: May Flower - Shipwreck (draft)" (PDF). Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2017.
11. "Thomas Wilson". Lake Superior Shipwrecks. Minnesota Historical Society. 1996. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
12. Frangou, Christina (11 October 2023) [Originally published October 6, 2023]. "Documentary filmmakers find 1895 steamship wreck in Lake Huron". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
13. Schaefer, Jim (9 November 2015). "Man discovers Lake Huron shipwreck missing since 1913". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
14. "James Davidson". Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA.
15. "Monohansett". Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA.
16. "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1908". Harvard University. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
17. "Typo". Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA.
18. "Dreadnaught (Schooner), U6837, sunk by collision, 1 Sep 1886". images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
19. "Morley, George W." Great Lakes Vessel History. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
20. "Grace Channon". Shipwreck Explorers. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
21. "Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Edmund Fitzgerald". Worldpress Blog. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2017. Shipwrecks - SS Milwaukee
22. "Shipwrecks". Retrieved 4 April 2011.
23. "Chequamegon". Historical Collections of the Great Lakes. Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
24. Thiel, Julia (27 February 2013). "An endangered piece of history beneath Lake Michigan's surface". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
25. Berry, Sterling. "Rochester (wooden)". Great Lakes Vessel History. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
26. "SS Sydney C. Mclouth (+1912)". Wrecksite. Affligem, Belgium: Adelante ebvba. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
27. Richardson, Ross. "W.C. Kimball". michiganmysteries.com. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
28. Lopez, Suzette (3 May 2022). Tanzilo, Bobby (ed.). "On May 3, 1936, three men sailed from Milwaukee to rescue whiskey" – via OnMilwaukee.
29. "17 Fathom Wreck".
30. MacDonald, Evan (26 October 2015) [Originally published October 25, 2015]. "Crews working to identify leak in shipwreck suspected to be the Argo". cleveland.com. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
31. Blake, Erica (19 March 2012). "Vanished shipwreck's secret revealed". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
32. "Conemaugh (wooden) - Great Lakes Vessel HistoryGreat Lakes Vessel History". greatlakesvesselhistory.com. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
33. "How the Fitzgerald Sank Twice". Great Lakes People and Places. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
34. ""Fought Death For A Day" The Saint Paul globe., November 08, 1897, Image 1".
35. "Terrible Disaster--Burning of the Steamer Northern Indiana--Great Loss of Life". Detroit Free Press. 18 July 1856. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
36. Pearson, Michael (22 October 2015). "153-year-old shipwreck found in Lake Ontario". CNN. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
37. "Duck Islands Claim Three More Lives". Syracuse Herald. Kingston, Ontario. 18 January 1931. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
38. "CITY OF NEW YORK (1863, Propeller)". greatlakeships.org. Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
39. Kohl, Cris (1997). Treacherous Waters: Kingston's Shipwrecks. ISBN 0-9681437-0-9.
40. Carola, Chris (17 August 2016). "Explorers find 2nd-oldest confirmed shipwreck in Great Lakes". Associated Press. Retrieved 18 August 2016.

External links

• The Great Lakes Shipwreck File, a list maintained by David D. Swayze which details over 4,900 shipwrecks. (Archived by the Wayback Machine.)
• Great Lakes Hold Fortune in Treasure Archived 12 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Port Light, Volume 3, Number 43, Door County, Wisconsin, November 15, 1945, page 3

Further reading

• Kohl, Cris (2008). The Great Lakes Diving Guide (2nd ed.). West Chicago: Seawolf Communications. ISBN 978-0967997698. Thumbnail histories, descriptions and locations of more than 1,000 Great Lakes shipwrecks located to date.
• Kohl, Cris; Forsberg, Joan (2007). Shipwrecks at Death's Door (1st ed.). West Chicago, IL: Seawolf. ISBN 978-0967997681.. A guide to hundreds of northern Lake Michigan shipwrecks.
• Kohl, Cris (2005). The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks: Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron (2nd ed.). West Chicago, IL: Seawolf Communications. ISBN 0967997658. Detailed stories of 100 significant shipwrecks, plus, in appendices, brief information about several hundreds more.
• Kohl, Cris (2005). The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks: Lake Michigan, Lake Superior (2nd ed.). West Chicago, IL: Seawolf Communications. ISBN 0967997666. Detailed stories of 100 significant shipwrecks, plus, in appendices, brief information about several hundreds more.
• Wachter, Georgann & Michael (2003). Erie Wrecks East: A Guide to Shipwrecks of Eastern Lake Erie (2nd ed.). Avon Lake, Ohio: CorporateImpact. ISBN 096613124X. Identifies 110 wreck locations.
• Wachter, Georgann & Michael (2001). Erie Wrecks West: A Guide to Shipwrecks of Western Lake Erie (2nd ed.). Avon Lake, Ohio: CorporateImpact. ISBN 0966131223. Identifies 103 wreck locations.
• Wachter, Georgann & Michael (2007). Erie Wrecks & Lights. Avon Lake, OH: CorporateImpact. ISBN 978-0966131253. Identifies 45 wreck locations.