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Shipwrecks near the surface

A view of Lake Superior from a Marquette shoreline. The Great Lakes are the final resting place of many vessels, but not all lay in murky depths accessible only to divers. (Photo by Elizabeth Fust)

Accessing Michigan’s sunken treasure isn’t just for SCUBA divers

Story by Elizabeth Fust

Many say that the watery depths of the earth are the final frontier for exploration, to discover the new and to rediscover the ruins of old. The Great Lakes hold a waterlogged history, from their shores to their depths, and you don’t need SCUBA gear or training to catch a glimpse of these shipwrecks. Many of the wrecks are close enough to shore to be seen by paddleboarders, kayakers and canoers.

A new interactive map from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan History Center makes finding these shipwrecks easy and accessible. The map is an ongoing development built in ArcGIS with the details of the shipwrecks coming from the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council. There are over 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and nearly 550 — many still undiscovered — littered on the shores and historic piers of the Great Lakes and around Michigan’s many peninsula’s, inlets and islands.

Here are the stories of just a few that you can find in your travels along the Lake Superior shore.

Panama – Ontonagon Approximate Distance from Shore: 160 feet Depth in Lake: 10 feet

Laying furthest east of these shipwrecks in Lake Superior, the Panama met its fate at the mouth of the Mineral River, 14 miles from the port at Ontonagon. The Panama was a bulk freighter built in 1888 as the John Craig. After sustaining damages in 1903, the ship was rebuilt and renamed the Panama. With a load of coal and towing the barge Mantaza, the Panama was headed to the Keweenaw in 1906 when the fabled November gales of Lake Superior ravaged the freighter. Captain Jones ran the ship aground and the crew escaped into the woods — no lives were lost. The barge the Panama was towing had been let loose before they ran aground, but the heavy load the Panama carried had already done its damage to the freighter. Though able to anchor safely, the Panama was dashed against the rocks ashore. As the storm raged, the Panama was battered apart at the seams and broke in two. Some remains were scavenged, but the skeleton of the ship remains, sometimes visible from shore near where it lies in the water.

Cruiser — Chapel Rock Approximate Distance from Shore: 150 feet Depth in Lake: 10 feet

Many of the Great Lakes’ shipwrecks were freighters carrying supplies to the Upper Peninsula or natural prod-

Pictured is the De Soto, a three-masted schooner that wrecked just off the shores of Marquette in December, 1869. (Image courtesy of the Michigan History Center)

ucts from the Upper Peninsula. But not all wrecked ships in this greatest of the Great Lakes were commercial vessels. The Cruiser was a private yacht, built in 1877 in Ontario. It was a late summer’s day when a group of sightseers went out on Lake Superior near Alger County. Like the trip undertook by the passengers who set sail on the Minnow in Gilligan’s Island, this Lake Superior trip turned fateful. The Cruiser encountered rough waters near Chapel Rock and the small yacht was foundered. Luckily, all of the sightseers made it safely to shore. Chapel Rock is accessible by paddle board, and though the Cruiser may be scattered around the area, it is a great place to go sightseeing — but only in calm waters.

DeSoto — Marquette Approximate Distance from Shore: 465 feet, at old dock Depth in Lake: 10 feet

Lake Superior’s shipwrecks are found all over the coast, near cities and rocky isolates. As the largest city in the U.P., Marquette has its fair share of shipwrecks in her harbors. The DeSoto was a three-masted schooner first launched in the spring of 1856. After only 15 years of service, the schooner was stranded and broke apart while in Marquette during December of 1869 — the remains of the schooner are still found at an old docking area. The wreck is in about 10 feet of water at the old dock and presents a good opportunity for snorkeling, paddle sports and novice SCUBA diving.

Traveller — Eagle Harbor

Approximate Distance from Shore: 400 feet Depth in Lake: 20 feet

At the rounded crest of the Keweenaw and at the mouth of Eagle Harbor lies the remains of the Traveller. The wooden sidewheeler was upbound for Wisconsin when it stopped at Eagle Harbor. While harbored there, it was discovered that the Traveller was on fire. The ship had already burned once before, in 1854 in Chicago, two years after being built. The Traveller was rebuilt and set into service again. This time the schooner would not be salvaged. The Traveller burned and rests in the sandy depths by the Eagle Harbor Life Saving Station. Cargo and much of the furniture was saved before the Traveller burned and sank. All that remains now are the hull and timbers, still showing evidence of the fire

AFTER ONLY 15 YEARS OF SERVICE, THE DE SOTO WAS STRANDED AND BROKE APART WHILE IN MARQUETTE DURING DECEMBER OF 1869.