Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the Great Lakes. And because of the shallow water, many of these wrecks are not as well preserved as in some other Great Lakes, including the famous Lake Superior shipwrecks.
But on a positive note, scuba divers don’t have to dive as deep as they would in the other Great Lakes to locate the many shipwrecks here. It is estimated that there could be 500 to 2000 shipwrecks at the bottom of Lake Erie. Two hundred seventy-seven of those wrecks have been identified so far.
In this article, famous Lake Erie shipwrecks, we will explore 9 of Lake Eries most interesting shipwrecks that this Great Lake has swallowed up. You will discover what happened to these ships, where these ships were headed at the time of the disaster, and how many lives were lost in these wrecks.
If you are interested in the shipwrecks of Lake Erie, you will want to read on and discover the fascinating details of famous wrecks at the bottom of Lake Erie.
9 Famous Lake Erie Shipwrecks
| Ship Name | Date of Disaster | Loss of Life | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Serpent | Late Sept. or Early Oct. 1829 | 3 | N/A |
| Anthony Wayne | April 27, 1850 | up to 70 | 41° 31′ 0″ N, 82° 23′ 0″ W |
| G.P. Griffith | June 16, 1850 | 241 to 289 | Burned at the waterline |
| PS Atlantic | August 20, 1852 | 130 to 300 | 42° 30′ 0″ N, 80° 5′ 0″ W |
| Sultan | September 24, 1864 | 7 | 41° 36′ 0″ N, 81° 37′ 0″ W |
| Marquette and Bessemer No.2 | December 08, 1909 | 30 to 38 | N/A |
| James B. Colgate | October 20, 1916 | 25 | 42° 5′ 22.68″ N, 81° 44′ 16.86″ W |
| SS Margaret Olwill | June 28, 1899 | 8 | N/A |
| C.B. Benson | October 13, 1893 | 8 | 42° 46′ 0″ N, 79° 14′ 0″ W |
Lake Serpent
The Lake Serpent is the oldest known shipwreck in Lake Erie. She was built in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1821. She was an early 19th-century 47-foot schooner that sank in late September or early October 1829. When she sank, she was coming from Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie’s South Bass Island, now known as Kelley’s Island, with a load of limestone boulders and was headed back to Cleveland, Ohio.
On October 08, 1829, the Cleveland Weekly Herald reported that the ship had not been seen for four weeks after it loaded up with stone at Put-in-Bay. Two bodies washed ashore in the first week of October 1829. They were the Captain of the Lake Serpent, Ezra Wright, and his brother Robert Wright.
On July 23, 2015, the wreck of the Lake Serpent was found in 50 feet of water off the coast of Marblehead, Ohio, by Tom Kowalczyk and his team from the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE), which is a non-profit volunteer group.
Anthony Wayne
The Anthony Wayne, also known as General Wayne, is the second oldest shipwreck found in Lake Erie after the Lake Serpent. She was built in 1837, launched on August 08, 1837, and rebuilt in 1849 when they added new boilers. She was a wooden-hulled side-wheel steamer owed by Charles B. Howard and Co., and Captain E.C. Gore. Her standard cargo was passengers, livestock, and other misc. freight.
She sank on April 27, 1850, about 8 miles off the coast of Vermillion, Ohio, when two of her newly installed boilers exploded. The day before, she had picked up 25 passengers from Toledo, Ohio, and another 40 plus passengers at Sandusky, Ohio, along with 300 barrels of wine and whiskey. She was headed to Buffalo, New York, at the time of the disaster.
The Captain, a couple of crew members, and two passengers got on a lifeboat and went to the shore near Vermillion. The Captain then got the help of schooner Elmina and went back to the wreck site. The ship sank bow first, taking most of her passengers and crew with her. Out of the estimated 80 to 100 people onboard the Anthony Wayne, only 30 souls survived.
On September 16, 2006, she was discovered off the coast of Vermillion by Tom Kowalczyk and his organization CLUE. On January 02, 2018, the PS Anthony Wayne was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it was the first time an Ohio Shipwreck was included in their database.
Diving Deeper: Famous Lake Michigan Shipwrecks
G.P. Griffith
The SS G.P. Griffith made her last voyage on June 15, 1850, and sank the next day on June 16, 1850. She was heading to Toledo, Ohio, from Buffalo, New York, at the time of her demise. Her passengers were primarily new immigrants in America from Scandinavia, England, Ireland, and Germany.
After making her last stop at Fairport, Ohio, Richard Mann, her wheelman, notices sparks from the ship’s smokestacks. The ship’s captain, C.C. Roby, ordered her full steam to shore. This caused the fire in the smokestack to intensive, and the crew left their positions, slowing the paddlewheel steamer down until it hit a sandbar in shallow water about half a mile from shore.
The Griffith was soon engulfed in flames, and passengers, the captain, and his family abandoned the ship. Most of the passengers drowned in the chaos. One of the ship’s mates made it to shore, grabbed a rowboat, and returned to try to save as many people as possible.
Delaware, a nearby steamer, ended up towing Griffith to shore. It is estimated that between 241 and 281 people died that day in Lake Erie. The death toll of the Griffith was the most significant loss of life on the Great Lakes, and today it still ranks as the third deadliest sinking of a ship on the Great Lakes.
Only 37 people survived that day. All that remains today of the wreck of the Griffith is its bell which was located in 1974 off the shore of Willoughby, Ohio it is now on display at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio. In 2000 a monument was erected at Willowbeach near where the Griffith burned.
PS Atlantic
The PS Atlantic was another passenger side-wheel steamer that sank in the waters of Lake Erie. When the Atlantic left Buffalo, New York, for Detroit, Michigan, on August 19, 1852, she was carrying a full load of over 250 immigrant passengers from Ireland, Europe, and Norway when she collided with another steamer, the Ogdensburg, on August 20, 1852.
Before the collision, Atlantic stopped off at Erie, Pennsylvania, to pick up even more passengers. When she left the Erie port, she was way over capacity with 500 to 600 people onboard. Records were lacking in those days, and the exact number of passengers onboard the Atlantic that day is unclear.
In the early morning hours of August 20, 1852, the Ogdensburg was struck by the Atlantic when it passed in front of her. Reports say that heavy fog might have been in play that morning. The Ogdensburg whistle was broken at the time, so Degrass McNeil went out on the deck of the Ogdensburg to try and warn the Atlantic, but it was too late.
Ogdensburg and Atlantic Collide
The two ships collided, causing significant damage down to the waterline of the Atlantic. Although damaged, she went full steam in the other direction. Water started to pour, flooding the boilers and causing the ship to stop completely. Her bow started to sink first, but her stern stayed afloat.
After the collision, the Ogdensburg steamed away, thinking the Atlantic was not irreparably damaged. But they soon turned back when they realized something was wrong. Panic set in on the Atlantic, passengers started to jump ship, and many drowned. The Ogdensburg crew was able to save some of the passengers that were still on the stern and some in the water.
The exact number of people that lost their lives that day varies from 130 to 300, making it the fifth worst disaster in Great Lakes history. The Atlantic now lies in 150 feet of water near Long Point, Ontario. She was found in 1991 and is now owned by the Ontario Government, which has placed a monitor on the wreck to inform them if a vessel is above the wreck for an extended period. Removing artifacts from the wreck of the Atlantic is against the law.
Sultan
The Sultan was a two-mast brigantine ship that sunk on September 24, 1864, after she sailed straight into a storm when leaving Cleveland, Ohio. Captain Nelson Webster was young and inexperienced and went against other captains’ warnings.
On her way to Buffalo, New York, she bottomed out several times near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River because the waters were so rough, but after checking for the damage, she sailed on to her destination. After falling low in the water, the crew started unloading her grindstone cargo to keep her afloat.
Water started coming in, and the crew started to utilize the pumps to keep her afloat but to no avail. The cargo that was left on the ship started to shift. The ship was now leaning on her starboard side, and the crew launched the lifeboat, quickly filled with water. Two of the crew members tried boarding the water-logged raft, but they didn’t survive the rough seas and were swept away.
The rest of the crew, including the captain, climbed the masts, but because of the raging weather, they soon broke, and the entire crew, except for the first mate Elizur Spear all perished in the freezing waters of Lake Erie. Seven people in total died that day.
The wreck of the Sultan was located on August 11, 2011, by the Cleveland Underwater Explorers in 50 feet of water off the shores of Cleveland near Collinwood. Mooring and buoys were placed on the wreck site so divers could easily find the wreck of the Sultan.
Marquette and Bessemer No.2
Marquette & Bessemer No.2 was a train ferry that would haul train cars full of coal across Lake Erie from Conneaut, Ohio, to Port Stanley, Ontario. This would take her about 5 hours. She was built in 1905.
On her final voyage, she left Conneaut, Ohio, on her regular trip but never arrived. On the day of her sinking on December 08, 1909, there were reported winds of 75mph in the area she sank. People heard many reports and saw Marquette and Bessemer No.2 on the day of her sinking, but they contradict one another.
On December 12, 1909, a lifeboat from the ship was found with nine bodies fifteen miles off of Erie, Pennsylvania. Slowly wreckage started to wash ashore at Port Burwell, Ontario, and the final lifeboat was found in the spring of 1910 in the Buffalo Harbor Breakwater.
Five more bodies were found, including Captain McLeod, who had severe knife wounds to his body, presumably from Steward George R. Smith, whose body was found with two large knives and a meat cleaver. Some believe Smith attacked the ship’s officers while trying to secure a spot on one of the lifeboats.
The Marquette and Bessemer No.2 has yet to be located and remains one of Lake Eries’ mysteries that, hopefully, one day, will be solved. Between 30 and 38 people died that day on Lake Erie.
James B. Colgate
The James B. Colgate, loaded down with coal, sank on a day now known as Black Friday on October 20, 1916. That day was treacherous for many ships sailing on the waters of Lake Erie. On that day, she was headed from Buffalo, New York, to Fort William, Ontario, and unbeknownst to her crew, this would be her last trip.
She was one of four ships that foundered that day on Lake Erie. The sinking of the James B. Colgate was the first time a steel whaleback ship had ever sunk in the Great Lakes. There was only one lifeboat on the ship, so most of the crew had to use lifevests to survive.
The entire crew of the James B. Colgate drowned that horrible black Friday except for Captain Grashaw, who survived to the following day when the Marquette and Bessemer No.2 II ( not to be confused with Marquette and Bessemer No. 2) happened by and picked him up.
The wreck of the James B. Colgate was found in 1991, 12 miles southeast of Erieau, Ontario, at a depth of 85 feet. In all, 25 people perished on that day in 1916.
SS Margaret Olwill
The SS Margaret Olwill was a wooden steam barge built in 1887 and rebuilt twice before she sank on June 28, 1899. She was used to ship goods on Lake Erie. On that June day in 1899, a freak storm caught Margaret Olwill off guard, and she sank while hauling 900 tons of limestone.
Overcome by the weight on board, her seams burst, and water started rushing into the hull. As she was filling with water and listing, a huge wave washed over her capsizing her. A few nearby ships came to rescue those on the sinking Margaret Olwill.
Eight people died that day, including Captain Brown, his wife, and his 9-year-old son. Their bodies later washed ashore east of Vermillion, Ohio. Later some of the wreckage of Margaret Olwill washed ashore at Cedar Point, Ohio.
On July 26, 2017, the wreck of Margaret Olwill was located by Rob Ruetschle along with Cleveland Underwater Explorers at a depth of 50 feet.
C.B. Benson
C.B. Benson was a three-mast brigantine schooner that sank on October 13, 1893, in Gravelly Bay while it was on its way from Buffalo, New York, to Toledo, Ohio. On that fateful day, she ran into an extreme storm on Lake Erie. Eight people died in the wreck, including Captain John Duff and his son Curtis.
This ship is famous because it was the first to transport cargo from North America to Europe. On her last voyage, Friday the 13th, she was hauling coal and became overpowered by rogue waves.
The wreck of C.B. Benson was found in 78 feet of water sitting upright near port Colbourne in Gravelly Bay and is well preserved in clear water. This is one of the better-preserved ships to dive on in Lake Erie.
Conclusion – Famous Lake Erie Shipwrecks
Lake Erie indeed holds several tragic wrecks, and although most of the wrecks are not in the most excellent state of preservation. Some of them are still easily accessible to the beginner diver or intermediate because they lay in more shallow water than the other Great Lakes wrecks like some Lake Michigan shipwrecks.
I hope you enjoyed this article and if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. We love hearing from our readers and the stories they can share. Until next time Happy Wreck Hunting!
From your article:
“Marquette & Bessemer No.2 was a train ferry that would haul train cars full of coal across Lake Erie… She was built in 1905.”
“On her final voyage, she left Conneaut, Ohio, on her regular trip but never arrived. On the day of her sinking on December 08, 1909, there were reported winds of 75mph in the area she sank.”
Later:
“The James B. Colgate, loaded down with coal, sank on a day now known as Black Friday on October 20, 1916.”
“The entire crew of the James B. Colgate drowned that horrible black Friday except for Captain Grashaw, who survived to the following day when the Marquette and Bessemer No.2 happened by and picked him up.”
Q: If Marquette & Bessemer No.2 sank in 1909, how did it pick up Captain Grashaw on October 21, 1916?
Hi Tsingtao, I should have clarified that the second instance of the Marquette & Bessemer No.2 was called Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 II, which is an entirely different ship built in 1910 was kept in commission until the 1970s. I don’t know why they wouldn’t just name it Marquette & Bessemer No.3, which would have been much easier to distinguish between the two.
Thank you for reading and especially for your comment!
I was objectively questioning if I was developing early-onset dementia and came back to reread the article several times after I posted.
Thanks for the clarification!
You are welcome; thank you for pointing out the discrepancy and your comment.