AH-WR-1738

Mary B. Hale

Schooner · United States · Lost October 1892; exact day conflicts in the institutional account · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Mary B. Hale broke in two near Manitowoc’s south pier while seeking shelter during an October 1892 gale.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Mary B. Hale was built at Cleveland in 1857 by Peck & Masters as a wooden, two-masted schooner. She survived earlier collisions and groundings with repairs. Carrying posts from Alpena to Racine in an October 1892 gale, she sought shelter at Manitowoc but mistook the pier and grounded near the south pier. The vessel broke in two soon afterward and the crew reached shore. Cargo was forwarded to Racine by Felicitous; the institutional account reports that her remains were located and removed in November 1908.

Vessel

Built: 1857
Registry: US registry no. 16313
Builder: Peck & Masters
Yard: Cleveland, Ohio
Material: Wood
Length: 123 ft
Beam: 28 ft
Tonnage: 248.90 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 1892; exact day conflicts in the institutional account
Cause: Grounding
Location: Near the south pier of Manitowoc Harbor, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Alpena, Michigan → Racine, Wisconsin
Cargo: Posts
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

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

Position

Coordinates: 44.09° N 87.65° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Region: Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Position converted from the institutional inventory’s published degrees and decimal minutes; survey accuracy is not independently established.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Exact position, present depth and surviving condition are not established in the reviewed sources.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks
Construction, dimensions, two-masted rig, registry number and posts voyage; grounding and breakup, crew escape, salvage and 1908 removal; conflicting day qualified and published inventory position.