John C. Fitzpatrick
Schooner Barge · United States · Lost 1903 · Long Island & the New York Approaches
A former Great Lakes schooner converted to a coal barge that exploded and sank off Long Island in 1903, killing all five aboard.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
John C. Fitzpatrick was built in 1892 as a schooner on the Great Lakes and later brought to the Atlantic seaboard and converted to a towed coal barge. On April 3, 1903, while under tow from Philadelphia to New Bedford with a cargo of coal, her boiler exploded off Long Island and she sank quickly, killing all five men aboard.
Vessel
- 1892
- US 77028
- Frank W. Wheeler & Co.
- West Bay City, Michigan
- Wood
- 242 ft
- 39 ft
- 1277
- Towed, no independent propulsion (formerly sail)
- Mentor Steamship Co. (Great Lakes); later converted for Atlantic seaboard barge service
Loss
- April 3, 1903
- Mechanical failure
- Off the coast of Long Island, New York
- Atlantic Ocean
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania → New Bedford, Massachusetts
- 2,400 tons of bituminous coal
- 5
- 5
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 130 ft
- Low debris field
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position withheld to protect the site
- Long Island, New York
No source with a documented position (charted, surveyed, or otherwise) could be found for this wreck beyond the generic description 'off the coast of Long Island.'
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)
Build, conversion, and loss details.
Eco-Photo Explorers / dive magazine research
Wreck location, condition, and popular dive site name.
