Col. A.B. Williams
Schooner · United States · Lost 1864 · Saginaw Bay & the Michigan Thumb
One of the earliest known shipwrecks in the Sanilac Shores preserve, its coal-laden hull broken apart in a Civil War-era Lake Huron storm.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Col. A.B. Williams was a wooden coal schooner lost in a violent Lake Huron storm off Port Sanilac in the early 1860s. The wreck went unlocated for nearly a century until a commercial fisherman's nets snagged it in 1957; an anchor was recovered in 1960 and is now displayed ashore. Today her well-preserved bow, bowsprit, and windlass make her a popular intermediate dive in the Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- 110 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- January 1, 1864
- Storm
- Off Port Sanilac, Michigan
- Lake Huron
- Not established
- Coal
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 84 ft
- Bow relatively intact with bowsprit and railing; stern broken
- Upright
- 1957
- Within Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve
Position
- 43.61° N 82.51° W
- Approximate position
- Port Sanilac, Michigan
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)
Her precise build year, builder, and the exact date of loss (given variously as 1863 or 1864) are not firmly established in the sources reviewed.
Sanilac County Historical Society historical marker
Loss narrative, discovery, depth
Michigan Underwater Preserve Council
Depth, coordinates
