Monarch
Barkentine · United States · Lost 1874 · Georgian Bay & the North Channel
A Canadian-built barkentine that grounded on Crab Island Shoal in 1874, leaving her coal cargo scattered across the site.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Monarch was a three-masted barkentine built in 1863 at Oakville, Ontario, and carried bulk cargoes such as coal on the Great Lakes for over a decade. On September 21, 1874, while carrying coal through the DeTour Passage, she stranded on the western end of Crab Island Shoal and was abandoned as a total loss. Salvors stripped her deck fittings and rigging, but her coal cargo remains scattered across the site to this day.
Vessel
- 1863
- John Simpson
- Oakville, Ontario
- Wood
- 135 ft
- Not established
- 378
- Wind, three-masted barkentine rig
- Not established
Loss
- September 21, 1874
- Grounding
- Crab Island Shoal, DeTour Passage
- Lake Huron
- Not established
- Coal
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 40 ft
- Stripped of deck fittings and rigging by salvors; coal cargo scattered across the site
- Not established
- Not established
- Within the DeTour Passage Underwater Preserve
Position
- 45.96° N 83.89° W
- Approximate position
- Drummond, Michigan
Position as reported by a regional dive-site database, not independently verified against a government survey.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (62/100)
Beam, crew size and further voyage details are not established in the sources reviewed.
Hang Outdoors regional shipwreck database
Build details, loss narrative, wreck location and condition.
DeTour Passage Underwater Preserve, Michigan Underwater Preserves
Regional preserve context for DeTour Passage shipwrecks.
