Thunder Bay & Lake Huron
A shipping funnel with a rock shelf beneath it
Northern Lake Huron narrows here, and for a century every cargo bound between Chicago and the lower lakes passed off Thunder Bay.
Fog closes in fast off Alpena, shoals reach out from Thunder Bay Island and Presque Isle, and the limestone shelf lies only a few fathoms down in places where charts once showed open water. Heavy traffic met poor visibility with predictable results: collisions, strandings and late-season storms left one of the densest concentrations of documented wrecks in fresh water, now protected as a national marine sanctuary.
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Records in These Waters
AvailableAlvin Buckingham
AH-WR-1545Black River reef near Harrisville, Michigan
1870 · Two-Masted Schooner · 8 ft deep
RegisteredAmerican Union
AH-WR-0507Presque Isle, Michigan
1894 · Schooner · 10 ft deep
AvailableB.W. Blanchard
AH-WR-1547North Point Reef, Thunder Bay, Michigan
1904 · Steam Barge · 9 ft deep
AvailableBarge No. 1
AH-WR-1928Alpena, Michigan
1918 · Car Ferry Barge · 42 ft deep
AvailableBay City
AH-WR-1549Off Alpena, Michigan
1902 · Two-Masted Schooner Barge · 11 ft deep
AvailableBenjamin Franklin
AH-WR-1550Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1850 · Sidewheel Steamer · 10–55 deep
AvailableChester B. Jones
AH-WR-1656Rogers City, Michigan
1924; abandoned after quarry service · Wooden Three-Masted Schooner Barge · 16 ft deep
AvailableChoctaw
AH-WR-0296Thunder Bay, Michigan
1915 · Steel Bulk Freighter · 40 ft deep
AvailableCity of Alpena
AH-WR-0716Alcona, Michigan
1880 · Tug · 9 ft deep
AvailableClifton
AH-WR-1524Alpena, Michigan
1924 · Whaleback Freighter
AvailableCongress
AH-WR-0291Thunder Bay, Michigan
1904 · Wooden Bulk Freighter
AvailableCornelia B. Windiate
AH-WR-0010Presque Isle, Michigan
1875 · Schooner · 180 ft deep
AvailableCorsair
AH-WR-1645Harrisville, Michigan
1872 · Two-Masted Schooner · 182 ft deep
AvailableCorsican
AH-WR-0292Thunder Bay, Michigan
1893 · Wooden Schooner · 30 ft deep
AvailableD.M. Wilson
AH-WR-1552Two miles north of Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1894 · Wooden Bulk Freighter · 40 ft deep
AvailableD.R. Hanna
AH-WR-1553Off Thunder Bay, Lake Huron
1919 · Steel Bulk Freighter · 135 ft deep
AvailableDefiance
AH-WR-0505Presque Isle, Michigan
1854 · Schooner · 185 ft deep
AvailableDuncan City
AH-WR-1655Rogers City, Michigan
Circa 1923 · Wooden Tug · 15 ft deep
AvailableE.B. Allen
AH-WR-1554Off Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
November 1871 · Two-Masted Schooner · 100 ft deep
AvailableEgyptian
AH-WR-1555Off Black River near Harrisville, Michigan
1897 · Wooden Bulk Freighter
AvailableEtruria
AH-WR-0714Presque Isle, Michigan
1905 · Bulk Freighter · 317 ft deep
AvailableF.T. Barney
AH-WR-1556Off Presque Isle, Michigan
1868 · Two-Masted Schooner · 160 ft deep
AvailableHarvey Bissell
AH-WR-1557Alpena waterfront, Michigan
1905 · Schooner Barge · 15 ft deep
AvailableIronton
AH-WR-0294Thunder Bay, Michigan
1894 · Wooden Schooner-Barge · 180 ft deep
AvailableIsaac M. Scott
AH-WR-0295Thunder Bay, Michigan
1913 · Steel Bulk Freighter · 175 ft deep
AvailableIshpeming
AH-WR-0715Harrisville, Michigan
1903 · Schooner · 12 ft deep
AvailableJames Davidson
AH-WR-0718Alpena, Michigan
1883 · Bulk Freighter · 35 ft deep
AvailableJames H. Hall
AH-WR-1559Thunder Bay River entrance, Alpena, Michigan
1916 · Three-Masted Schooner
AvailableJohn F. Warner
AH-WR-1646Alpena, Michigan
1890 · Wooden Three-Masted Schooner · 9 ft deep
RegisteredJohn J. Audubon
AH-WR-0508Presque Isle, Michigan
1854 · Brig · 170 ft deep
AvailableJohn L. Shaw
AH-WR-0717Harrisville, Michigan
1894 · Schooner · 128 ft deep
AvailableJohn T. Johnson
AH-WR-1654Alpena, Michigan
1904 · Wooden Schooner Barge · 7 ft deep
AvailableJoseph S. Fay
AH-WR-0504Alpena, Michigan
1905 · Wooden Bulk Freighter · 19 ft deep
AvailableKyle Spangler
AH-WR-0293Thunder Bay, Michigan
1860 · Wooden Schooner · 175 ft deep
AvailableL.M. Mason
AH-WR-1560North Bay, Presque Isle, Michigan
1861 · Two-Masted Schooner · 18 ft deep
AvailableLoretta
AH-WR-1664Black River, Michigan
1896 · Steam Barge · 7 ft deep
AvailableLucinda Van Valkenburg
AH-WR-1561Northeast of Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1887 · Two-Masted Schooner · 60 ft deep
AvailableM.F. Merrick
AH-WR-1647Presque Isle, Michigan
1889 · Schooner · 310–321 deep
AvailableMaid of the Mist
AH-WR-1929Alpena, Michigan
1878 · Schooner · 7 ft deep
AvailableMarine City
AH-WR-1562Off Sturgeon Point, Michigan
1880 · Sidewheel Passenger Steamer
AvailableMessenger
AH-WR-1930Rogers City, Michigan
November 1890; the narrative dates the fire November 10 while the summary table gives November 12. · Steam Barge · 194 ft deep
AvailableMonohansett
AH-WR-0093Thunder Bay Island, Alpena, Michigan
1907 · Wooden Steam Barge · 18 ft deep
AvailableMontana
AH-WR-0012Alpena, Michigan
1914 · Bulk Freighter · 63 ft deep
AvailableNew Orleans
AH-WR-1932Alpena, Michigan
1906 · Bulk Freighter · 145 ft deep
AvailableNew Orleans
AH-WR-1931Alpena, Michigan
1849 · Side-Wheel Steamer · 15 ft deep
AvailableNordmeer
AH-WR-0013Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1966 · Ocean Freighter · 40 ft deep
AvailableNorman
AH-WR-0297Thunder Bay, Michigan
1895 · Steel Bulk Freighter · 200 ft deep
AvailableO.E. Parks
AH-WR-1665Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1929 · Steam Barge · 62 ft deep
AvailableOgarita
AH-WR-1666Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1905 · Wooden Two-Masted Schooner Barge · 30 ft deep
AvailableOscar T. Flint
AH-WR-0506Alpena, Michigan
Year known; specific day not established in the sources reviewed. · Wooden Steam Barge · 32 ft deep
AvailablePersian
AH-WR-1933Presque Isle, Michigan
1868 · Schooner · 168 ft deep
AvailablePewabic
AH-WR-0009Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1865 · Package Freighter · 165 ft deep
AvailablePortsmouth
AH-WR-1649Middle Island, Michigan
1867 · Propeller Steamer · 8 ft deep
AvailableRacer
AH-WR-1934Rogers City, Michigan
1869 · Brig · 11 ft deep
AvailableShamrock
AH-WR-1650Alpena, Michigan
1905 · Wooden Steam Barge · 11 ft deep
AvailableSS Florida
AH-WR-0011False Presque Isle, Michigan
1897 · Package Freighter · 206 ft deep
AvailableSS Grecian
AH-WR-0094Alpena, Michigan
1906 · Bulk Freighter · 75-100 deep
AvailableSS Monrovia
AH-WR-0757Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1959 · Ocean Freighter · 80-140 deep
AvailableTypo
AH-WR-1566Southeast of Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1899 · Three-Masted Schooner
AvailableViator
AH-WR-1667Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1935 · Ocean Freighter · 188 ft deep
AvailableW.C. Franz
AH-WR-1651Harrisville, Michigan
1934 · Bulk Freighter · 230 ft deep
AvailableW.G. Mason
AH-WR-1567Off Rogers City calcite quarry, Michigan
About 1924 · Steam Tug · 13 ft deep
AvailableW.H. Gilbert
AH-WR-1668Thunder Bay region, Michigan
1914 · Bulk Freighter · 255 ft deep
AvailableW.P. Thew
AH-WR-1568Off Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1909 · Steam Barge · 84 ft deep
AvailableWilliam H. Rounds
AH-WR-1669Black River, Michigan
1905 · Schooner · 11 ft deep
AvailableWilliam H. Stevens
AH-WR-1652Scarecrow Island, Michigan
1863 · Wooden Two-Masted Schooner · 10 ft deep
AvailableWilliam Maxwell
AH-WR-1657Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
1908 · Fish Tug · 12 ft deep
AvailableWilliam P. Rend
AH-WR-1653Alpena, Michigan
1917 · Wooden Bulk Freight Barge · 17 ft deep
