L.J.N. Stark
Steam Towboat · Lost 1870 · Lake Champlain
Built with a double hull against rocks, the towboat L.J.N. Stark burned to the waterline on Point Au Roche reef in August 1870.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The steam towboat L.J.N. Stark was built at Whitehall, New York, in 1868–69 for the Northern Transportation Line with a double hull meant to survive striking rocks. In the early hours of August 5, 1870, northbound with six barges, she caught fire in the lamp room. Her barges were cut loose, and she ran aground on Point Au Roche reef and burned to the waterline. One crewman drowned. Her engines and boilers were later removed.
Vessel
- 1869
- Not established
- Whitehall, New York
- Wood
- 115 ft
- 31.5 ft
- Not established
- Steam
- Not established
Loss
- August 5, 1870
- Fire
- Point Au Roche reef, New York
- Lake Champlain
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 1
- Captain Arbuckle
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 1982 (local divers); relocated by sonar in 2000
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position withheld to protect the site
- Point Au Roche, New York
No pin: the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum does not publish this site's position.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
Total number aboard is not stated in the source reviewed.
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum — Steamboat L.J.N. Stark (Wreck YY)
Build, fire narrative (quoting the Plattsburgh Republican and Burlington Free Press) and site survey read; newspapers not independently inspected.
