300-Foot Lake Superior Shipwreck Found Nearly 120 Years After Sinking During Intense Storm

WHITEFISH POINT, MI — A group of divers found a Lake Superior shipwreck nearly 120 years to the day after it sank during a powerful October storm, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.

The nearly 300-foot-long barge was found in multiple pieces under 650 feet of water, 35 miles off Vermilion Point in Michigan's Upper Peninsula using side scan SONAR technology, the society said.

"I’ve looked for this ship for so long because it was a Whaleback. I was pretty excited. I couldn't wait to get the cameras on it," Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Director of Marine Operations Darryl Ertel Jr. said. "It's totally destroyed on the bottom. It's nowhere near intact. It's at least 4 to 5 big pieces and thousands of little pieces. It's just disintegrated."

The Barge 129 was carrying a load of iron ore and being pulled by the steamer Maunaloa in Lake Superior on Oct. 13, 1902, when a powerful storm swept across the lake.

The storm's strong winds caused massive waves that eventually snapped the towline connecting the two ships, leaving the barge at the mercy of the storm.

As Maunaloa turned around and tried to reconnect the towline, the wind and waves slammed the two ships together, with Maunaloa’s port side anchor ripping into Barge 129’s starboard side.

With the barge sinking, Captain Josiah Bailey and his crew moved quickly, but struggled to launch their lifeboat. The crew was eventually saved by members of the Maunaloa just as the whaleback sank to the bottom of Lake Superior.

"The whalebacks were pretty unusual ships," Shipwreck Society Executive Director Bruce Lynn said. "When we had the ROV (Remote Operating Vehicle) on it, you could clearly see the distinctive bow with a part of the towline still in place…that was an incredible moment!"

For more information about the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and their mission, visit their website here.