Shipwreck found in Lake Superior more than 130 years after boat vanished during family trip

A ship lost at sea has been recovered 132 years after it sank, a historical preservation society announced this week.

The Western Reserve, a 318-foot steel steamer, was wrecked 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior on August 30, 1892. The ship got caught in a storm that caused the crew to drop anchor and wait for better conditions. Strong winds ultimately overtook the vessel around 9:00 p.m., causing it to break up and sink.

Twenty-eight people were on board the ship, once dubbed the “inland greyhound” for its speed, when it collapsed. Its owner, millionaire shipping magnate Captain Peter G. Minch, had taken his family on a late-summer cruise through Lake Huron with a final destination of Two Harbors, Minnesotta.

His wife, two young children, sister-in-law and niece were on board.

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The passengers and crew managed to deploy and board the life vessels before the ship submerged. But one of the lifeboats overturned, causing many crew members to disappear beneath the surface. The occupants of the other lifeboat managed to recover two of the crewmen.

Survivors endured wind and darkness for the subsequent 10 hours. A steamship passed them in the middle of the night. Passengers screamed for a half-hour, but their cries went unheard. Around 7:30 a.m. the following morning, the family and remaining crew found themselves a mile from the shoreline west of the Deer Park Life-Saving Station when their lifeboat overturned in breaking waves.

The incident resulted in the deaths of 27 people. One man, Wheelsman Harry W Stewart of Algonac, Michigan, survived.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society made the initial discovery in late summer 2024, the group announced Monday. Researchers had been looking for the ship for over two years.

They were finally able to locate it using side-scan sonar on the nonprofit’s vessel, the David Boyd. Remotely operated vehicle deployments further confirmed the shipwreck’s position, revealing it had broken in two, with the bow section resting on top of the stern in roughly 600 feet of water.

The ship was one of the first all-steel vessels on the Great Lakes, according to the group. It was built to break cargo shipping records and was considered one of the safest ships of its time.

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“Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic”, said the organization’s Executive Director Bruce Lynn. “It is hard to imagine that Captain Peter G. 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.

“It just reinforces how dangerous the Great Lakes can be … any time of year.”

The Great Lakes, which include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, have seen numerous shipwrecks due to their harsh weather conditions.

Around 200 ships have sunk in Whitefish Bay, the same place where the Western Reserve broke apart. The most notable in the area happened in 1975 when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an American freighter, wrecked, killing 29 people on board.