AH-WR-1813

Ardent

Schooner · United States · Lost 1880; exact day unknown · Door County & Lake Michigan

After surviving earlier collisions and a capsize, this two-masted schooner was driven ashore and abandoned at Hedgehog Harbor in 1880.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Amos C. Stokes built Ardent at Sheboygan as a wooden two-masted schooner; the institutional account disagrees on its construction year. It carried general cargo and lumber on Lake Michigan and survived collisions and an 1878 capsize. In 1880 a gale broke its anchor chain while it carried wood cargo from Ellison’s Bay to Milwaukee, driving it ashore at Hedgehog Harbor. Captain Joseph Duke reported a total wreck; most cargo was saved, and the schooner was stripped and abandoned.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Registry: US registry no. 563
Builder: Amos C. Stokes
Yard: Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 77.5 ft
Beam: 18 ft
Tonnage: 57 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Amos C. Stokes; S. Saunders; Thomas Moore; Joseph Duke is named in the ownership table and as captain at final loss

Loss

Date: 1880; exact day unknown
Cause: Storm
Location: Hedgehog Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin
Water: Green Bay
Voyage: Ellison’s Bay, Wisconsin → Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cargo: Wood cargo; final-voyage narrative calls it lumber, construction table says wood and bark.
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Joseph Duke

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Institutional source explicitly states actual wreck location and condition have not been confirmed by archaeological investigation.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established