AH-WR-0300

John Jay

Passenger Steamer · United States · Lost 1856 · Lake George

A Lake George excursion steamer that burned to the waterline near Hague in 1856 after a clogged stack forced flame into her woodwork.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

John Jay was a 140-foot sidewheel steamer carrying about 70 passengers south on Lake George when a fouled smokestack drove flame into the boiler room in the evening of July 29, 1856. Fire spread quickly through her wooden superstructure as Captain Gale steered for shore near Hague. Several passengers died in the panic and flames before the vessel burned to the water's edge near Calamity Rock.

Vessel

Built: 1850
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 140 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, sidewheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: July 29, 1856
Cause: Fire
Location: Near Friend's Point, off Hague, Lake George
Water: Lake George
Voyage: Baldwin Dock, Ticonderoga → Cook's Landing, Lake George
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 70
Lives lost: 6
Master: Captain Gale

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 43.76° N 73.48° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Hague, New York
Region: Lake George

General area only: coordinate of Friends Point from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (70/100)

The precise number of lives lost is reported inconsistently across contemporary newspaper accounts.

New York Almanack
Narrative account of the fire, date, and casualties drawn from contemporary sources.
Hague Historical Society
First-person account of the fire and rescue by a surviving crew member.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Friends Point, NY (via TopoQuest)
coordinate of the named place of loss