Ghost ship lost for 132 years finally found in depths of Shipwreck Coast
Ghost ship revealed: Wreck of lost freighter found after 132 years (Photo: Getty Images)
An all-steel ship that set records on the Great Lakes before meeting a tragic fate has been discovered 132 years after it sank, researchers announced this week, USA Today reports.
Lone survivor’s account reveals the tragedy
The Western Reserve, a 318-foot steel freighter, vanished in August 1892 along a treacherous stretch of Lake Superior now known as Shipwreck Coast. Owned by shipping magnate Peter G. Minch, the vessel was carrying Minch’s family and crew on a summer trip when a violent storm struck.
“Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic,” said Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. “It is hard to imagine that Peter Minch would have foreseen any trouble when he invited his wife, two young children, and sister-in-law with her daughter aboard the Western Reserve for a summer cruise up the lakes.”
Only one person survived the disaster - wheelsman Harry W. Stewart. He later recounted how the ship broke apart in fierce winds, sinking within minutes. Two lifeboats were launched, but the metal one capsized almost instantly. Stewart and another crew member clung to the wooden boat for hours before it overturned just a mile from shore. Only Stewart made it to land.
Discovery confirms long-lost legend
The wreck was located last summer, lying in two pieces 600 feet underwater, about 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society used sonar scans to first detect the remains on July 22, later confirming the find with an underwater drone.
“Knowing how the Western Reserve was caught in a storm this far from shore made an uneasy feeling in the back of my neck,” said Darryl Ertel, the society’s director of marine operations. “A squall can come up unexpectedly … anywhere, and anytime.”
The ship’s bell and other details remain well-preserved, with a light fixture matching the only artifact ever recovered from the wreck - a lamp now displayed in the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio.
The Western Reserve is just one of many maritime disasters to haunt the Great Lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in the same region in 1975, remains the most famous, inspiring Gordon Lightfoot’s song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
