AH-WR-0515

Manistee

Packet Steamer · United States · Lost 1883 · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

A packet steamer that sheltered from a gale at Bayfield, then vanished with all 23 aboard on her final run toward Ontonagon in 1883.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Manistee was a wooden packet steamer built in 1867, carrying passengers and freight on Lake Superior for the Leopold and Austrian Line. In November 1883, she sheltered for four days near Bayfield, Wisconsin, from a violent gale before her captain, John McKay, decided to press on toward Ontonagon, Michigan. She was never seen again; all 23 aboard were lost, and neither wreckage nor cause of loss has been confirmed to this day.

Vessel

Built: 1867
Builder: E.M. Peck
Yard: Cleveland, Ohio
Material: Wood
Length: 184 ft
Beam: 30 ft
Tonnage: 677
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Leopold and Austrian Line

Loss

Date: November 15, 1883
Cause: Not established
Location: Western Lake Superior, near Bayfield, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Duluth, Minnesota (via a sheltering stop at Bayfield, Wisconsin) → Ontonagon, Michigan
Cargo: Flour, mill goods, furniture, general merchandise
Aboard: 23
Lives lost: 23
Master: John McKay

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: 46.81° N 90.82° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Region: Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

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