Messenger
Steam Barge · Lost November 1890; the narrative dates the fire November 10 while the summary table gives November 12. · Thunder Bay & Lake Huron
Her cedar cargo ablaze, the steam barge Messenger was cut loose from the Rogers City pier in 1890 and drifted burning into Lake Huron.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
E.M. Peck built the wooden propeller steam barge Messenger at Cleveland in 1866. In November 1890, docked at Rogers City and loaded with cedar posts, she caught fire from her smokestack as the crew finished dinner. The crew escaped ashore and cut her lines to protect the pier and lumber piles, and she drifted burning into Lake Huron. She sank in 194 feet of water about four miles from the harbor, her engine and boilers preserved.
Vessel
- 1866
- E.M. Peck
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Wood
- 136 ft
- 29 ft
- 288 gross tons
- Steam, screw
- Not established
Loss
- November 1890; the narrative dates the fire November 10 while the summary table gives November 12.
- Fire
- Lake Huron about four miles off Rogers City, Michigan
- Lake Huron
- Not established
- Cedar posts
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 194 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 45.41° N 83.77° W
- Approximate position
- Rogers City, Michigan
Sanctuary-published site position (mooring/GPS listing); displayed rounded.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Exact loss day and crew numbers are not established in the source reviewed.
NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary — Shipwrecks: Messenger
Specification table and complete description read; underlying archival records not independently inspected.
