AH-WR-0557

Acorn

Steamship · United Kingdom · Lost 1885 · The Florida Keys

A Scottish-built tramp steamer that grounded on Elbow Reef in 1885, its iron hull now identified after decades of survey work.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1881 near Glasgow, Scotland, the steamship Acorn worked as a tramp freighter, carrying fruit and later mahogany, hides, and logwood between New York and Caribbean and South American ports. On the night of February 8, 1885, she grounded on Elbow Reef in the Florida Keys, breaking her stern post and flooding immediately. Her crew was rescued by local wreckers, who salvaged what cargo they could. The wreck was tentatively identified by NOAA and volunteer divers around 2012-2017.

Vessel

Built: 1881
Builder: Thistle Works Yard
Yard: White Cart Water, near Glasgow, Scotland
Material: Iron
Length: 165 ft
Beam: 24.5 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Single compound inverted steam engine, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: February 8, 1885
Cause: Grounding
Location: Elbow Reef, Key Largo, Florida
Water: Straits of Florida
Voyage: New York City → Laguna (believed Brazil)
Cargo: Mahogany, hides, logwood, oil and lard
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: All crew were rescued by wreckers; no known loss of life.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20-30
Condition: Articulated iron hull about 142 feet long with up to 32 feet of structure; engine and machinery removed, likely by salvage.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2012
Protection: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Position

Coordinates: 25.14° N 80.26° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Key Largo, Florida
Region: The Florida Keys

General area only: coordinate of Elbow Reef from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)

No photograph of Acorn herself is known to survive, and full confirmation of the wreck's identity rests on measurements matching her known dimensions.