AH-WR-0152

J.C. Ford

Bulk Freight Propeller · United States · Lost 1924 · Georgian Bay & the North Channel

A wooden lumber freighter that burned and exploded off Little Trout Island in 1924, leaving an intact bronze propeller in shallow water.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

J.C. Ford was a wooden bulk freight propeller built in 1889 at Grand Haven, Michigan, and spent decades hauling lumber on the northern Great Lakes. On November 26, 1924, while carrying a lumber cargo, she caught fire and exploded near Little Trout Island in the DeTour Passage, burning down to her waterline. No lives were lost. Her broken remains lie in shallow water today, with a large bronze propeller still intact on the site.

Vessel

Built: 1889
Builder: Not established
Yard: Grand Haven, Michigan
Material: Wood
Length: 172 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 432
Propulsion: Steam propeller
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: November 26, 1924
Cause: Fire
Location: Off Little Trout Island, DeTour Passage
Water: Lake Huron
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Lumber
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 5-15
Condition: Burned to the waterline; broken up in shallow water, with a large intact bronze propeller on site
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within the DeTour Passage Underwater Preserve