AH-WR-1814

Belle

Sailing Vessel · United States · Lost Reported lost by the Chicago Tribune of October 8, 1860; actual casualty date not established in the institutional narrative. · Door County & Lake Michigan

A corn-laden sailing vessel built in 1848 damaged its foremast near the Manitou Islands and was wrecked near Baileys Harbor.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Belle was built by William Lent at Conneaut, Ohio, in 1848. The wooden vessel had two masts and one deck and measured 118.5 feet in length; the institutional source describes its rig as both brig and brigantine. On a corn-carrying voyage from Chicago to Buffalo, it sprang its foremast near the Manitou Islands and began leaking. It attempted to reach Baileys Harbor but ran ashore on rocks nearby; both vessel and cargo were reported lost in a Chicago Tribune account dated October 8, 1860.

Vessel

Built: 1848
Builder: William Lent
Yard: Conneaut, Ohio
Material: Wood
Length: 118.5 ft
Beam: 26 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail; two masts, described as both brig and brigantine
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Reported lost by the Chicago Tribune of October 8, 1860; actual casualty date not established in the institutional narrative.
Cause: Grounding
Location: Rocks near Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Chicago, Illinois → Buffalo, New York
Cargo: 11,300 bushels of corn
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established