Bell of a ship
Researchers used remotely operated underwater vehicles to explore the wreckage. Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society
In August 1892, the Western Reserve was sailing across Lake Superior when it got caught in a late summer storm. The 300-foot vessel was roughly 60 miles north of Whitefish Point when a powerful gale swept in and broke up the ship, causing it to sink to the icy depths of the lake. Just one person survived the wreck.
Now, more than 130 years later, underwater archaeologists have located the final resting place of the Western Reserve. They found the all-steel ship late last summer but announced the discovery this week
Using side-scan sonar and remotely operated underwater vehicles, researchers with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society located the Western Reserve after two years of searching. The ship is broken into two pieces, with the bow resting atop the stern. It’s submerged 600 feet deep.
“Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic,” says Bruce Lynn, the society’s executive director, in the announcement. “It just reinforces how dangerous the Great Lakes can be … any time of year.”
Black and white photo of a ship
The 300-foot-long Western Reserve was considered one of the fastest, safest ships on the Great Lakes at the time. Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society
The Western Reserve was a “very important” vessel in its time, according to the society. It was one of the first all-steel ships to sail the Great Lakes and was known as the “inland greyhound” for its speed on the water. The Western Reserve was also considered one of the safest ships on the Great Lakes.
The cargo ship was owned by Peter G. Minch, a wealthy shipping magnate based in Cleveland. On August 30, 1892, he decided to bring several members of his family onboard the ship as it sailed from Cleveland to Two Harbors, Minnesota. Minch’s wife, their two young children, his sister-in-law and his niece all joined the voyage, which was under the command of Captain Albert Myer.
They enjoyed pleasant weather as the ship steamed across Lake Huron. But when they reached Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior, the Western Reserve encountered rough conditions. The crew decided to drop the anchor and wait for the weather to clear up.
Eventually, they started sailing again. But around 9 p.m., the winds picked up and battered the ship. It sank within ten minutes.
Sonar image of shipwreck
Side-scan sonar revealed that one half of the ship is resting atop the other half on the lake floor. Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society
The crew deployed the Western Reserve’s two lifeboats and quickly evacuated everyone onboard. However, one of the lifeboats capsized and sent several members of the ship’s crew into the frigid water.
Passengers on the other lifeboat were able to pull two of the crew members out of the water. For the next ten hours, the survivors waited in the windy darkness for help to arrive. A steamship passed by but didn’t see or hear them.
In the early hours of the morning, the lifeboat overturned. Harry W. Stewart, the ship’s wheelsman, survived, but 27 other crew members and passengers died in the wreck.
“If it wasn’t for Harry Stewart, we really wouldn’t know what we know today about the Western Reserve,” Lynn tells USA Today’s Caitlin Looby and Michael Loria.
Historians aren’t sure why the ship broke in half. But one possible theory is that it sank because of “hogging.” Hogging occurs when a ship sails directly over the top of a large wave, which leaves its bow and its stern suspended in the air. The unsupported bow and stern tug down on the middle of the ship “like snapping a twig in the middle by pulling on both ends,” writes James Heinz, the society’s acquisitions director, in a blog post on the society’s website.
Alternatively, perhaps the ship sank because of some flaw or weakness in the steel used in its construction.
“This was a time when you were beginning to build ships with steel,” says Fred Stonehouse, a Great Lakes maritime historian, to Wisconsin Public Radio’s Danielle Kaeding. “Steel was a relatively new product, as opposed to iron. But the quality control of the steel as it was coming out of the mills, steel plates particularly, wasn’t always up to what it should be.”
It’s also possible that the Western Reserve wasn’t carrying enough ballast or that it wasn’t properly balanced. But Corey Adkins, the society’s spokesperson, cautioned against speculation.
“Who knows?” he tells the Washington Post’s Leo Sands.