AH-WR-1857

Joseph Cochrane

Schooner · Lost October 1870. The account begins the storm/leak sequence October 23, describes overnight pumping before grounding, and rescue October 25; precise grounding and terminal destruction dates not established. · Door County & Lake Michigan

A leaking lumber schooner missed Baileys Harbor’s channel in 1870, grounded on a reef, and was destroyed and abandoned.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Hosea Rogers built Joseph Cochrane at Charlotte, New York, in 1856. She carried bulk cargo and general merchandise, losing one of her three original masts in a documented 1865 modification. In October 1870, carrying lumber from Cheboygan toward Chicago, she developed a leak and grounded after missing the channel into Baileys Harbor. A boat from H.E. Mussey rescued her crew October 25; the schooner was rapidly destroyed and abandoned. The institution reports her remains were formerly confused with the distinct Christina Nilsson before research corrected the identification.

Vessel

Built: 1856
Registry: US registry no. 12755
Builder: Hosea Rogers
Yard: Charlotte, New York
Material: Wood
Length: 131.2 ft
Beam: 25.2 ft
Tonnage: 326 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Final owners Charles Anderson, Robert Bruce and F.M. Bruce, Chicago

Loss

Date: October 1870. The account begins the storm/leak sequence October 23, describes overnight pumping before grounding, and rescue October 25; precise grounding and terminal destruction dates not established.
Cause: Grounding
Location: Reef at Baileys Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Cheboygan, Michigan → Chicago, Illinois
Cargo: 236,000 board feet of lumber
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Historical destruction and abandonment documented; modern structural condition not assigned.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin
Region: Door County & Lake Michigan

Institutional inventory position inspected but surveyed provenance not established; no position inferred.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (86/100)

Exact grounding and destruction dates, casualty totals, depth and surveyed position unestablished. Inventory mast count differs from the documented 1865 modification; underlying insurance records not independently inspected.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks: Joseph Cochrane (1856)
Complete construction, Service History, Final Voyage and Today read: registry 12755, Rogers, Charlotte 1856, wood, 131.2 x 25.2 feet, 326 gross tons, mast removed 1865, final owners/Chicago, 236,000 board feet lumber Cheboygan to Chicago, October 23 storm/leak sequence and overnight pumping, reef grounding, October 25 H.E. Mussey rescue, rapid destruction/abandonment, corrected Christina Nilsson misidentification. Exact grounding day and survey provenance not established; underlying insurance records/newspapers not independently inspected.