AH-WR-0155

G. P. Griffith

Passenger And Package Steamer · United States · Lost 1850 · The Lake Erie Islands

An immigrant-laden steamer caught fire and burned within sight of shore on Lake Erie, in one of the era's deadliest disasters.

Captain of Record

Paul Joseph Matias

AHR-1940

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

G. P. Griffith carried passengers and freight between Buffalo and Toledo, many of them recent immigrant families. On June 17, 1850, fire broke out aboard near Fairport, Ohio, and the captain ran her toward shore off Willoughby. She burned to the waterline within sight of land, and most aboard could not reach safety. The disaster killed hundreds and was, at the time, the worst loss of life yet recorded on the Great Lakes.

Vessel

Built: 1848
Builder: Not established
Yard: Maumee, Ohio
Material: Wood
Length: 193 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 587
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: June 17, 1850
Cause: Fire
Location: Lake Erie, near Willoughby (present-day Willowick), Ohio
Water: Lake Erie
Voyage: Buffalo, New York → Toledo, Ohio
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 326
Lives lost: Contemporary accounts vary widely, placing the loss of life between about 212 and 300; a precise figure was never confirmed.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Burned to the waterline; the site was later lost to shoreline erosion.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 41.63° N 81.47° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Willoughby/Willowick, Ohio
Region: The Lake Erie Islands

General area only: coordinate of Willowick, Ohio (the present-day name of the former Willoughby lakeshore area) from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel ("Lake Erie, near Willoughby (present-day Willowick), Ohio"), not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (72/100)

The exact death toll and the wreck's present remains, if any, are not established in the sources reviewed.

Historical Marker Database / Ohio History Connection
Loss circumstances, route, and casualty estimates.
Lake County Genealogical Society
Burial of victims and local disaster accounts.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Willowick, OH
coordinate of the named place of loss