PHOTOS: 132-year-old wreck of ‘one of the safest ships afloat' discovered in Lake Superior
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society has announced the discovery of a new wreck on Lake Superior: The SS Western Reserve.
The 300-foot steel steamer was first found late last summer about 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in Lake Superior. The GLSHS' research vessel, the David Boyd, found the ship using side-scan sonar.
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Subsequent dives with a remotely operated vehicle confirmed the finding, showing that the ship broke in two. The bow rests on top of the stern approximately 600 feet below the surface of the water.
The Western Reserve was considered a nautical marvel in its time. It was one of the Great Lakes' first all-steel vessels.
'(She was) built to break cargo shipping records and was deemed one of the safest ships afloat,' the GLSHS said in its announcement.
The ship was owned by shipping magnate Peter G. Minch. He and several members of his family were on board for the ship's final, fateful journey.
According to historians, the Minch family hitched a ride on the ship while it sailed to Two Harbors, Minnesota, with a load of iron ore.
The Western Reserve started to sink at approximately 9 p.m. on Aug. 30, 1892. It sank within about 10 minutes, but it was enough time for the crew to launch its two lifeboats. One of them, however, flipped almost immediately. The other one, carrying Minch's family and a handful of crewmen, sailed on.
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At one point in the middle of the night, a steamship sailed past the lifeboat, but with no flares, they were not spotted.
Roughly 10 hours later, the lifeboat made it to within a mile of the Deer Park Life-Saving Station when it overturned. Of the 28 crew and passengers, only one person, wheelsman Harry Stewart, survived.
'Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic,' GLSHS Executive Director Bruce Lynn said. '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.'
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What was thought to be the Western Reserve's strength turned out to be a massive weakness. The ship's steel was contaminated with phosphorus and sulfur, causing the metal to weaken and the hull to fail. The sinking of the Western Reserve eventually led to new laws for testing steel used in shipbuilding.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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