Rockaway
Schooner · United States · Lost 1891 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan
A lumber-carrying scow schooner that foundered off South Haven in 1891 and later became a landmark archaeological study of Great Lakes scow construction.
Rockaway
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Rockaway was a wooden scow schooner built in 1866 at Oswego, New York, and later based at Muskegon, Michigan, in the lumber trade. On November 19, 1891, she became waterlogged in an autumn storm while carrying lumber from Ludington to Benton Harbor and sank off South Haven; all six aboard were rescued. Discovered by fishermen in 1983, the wreck was the subject of extensive archaeological study by the Michigan Maritime Museum and remains a popular preserve dive.
Vessel
- 1866
- Not established
- Oswego, New York
- Wood
- 107 ft
- 24 ft
- Not established
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- November 19, 1891
- Storm
- About 2.5 miles northwest of South Haven, Michigan
- Lake Michigan
- Ludington, Michigan → Benton Harbor, Michigan
- Lumber
- 6
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 60-70
- Broken into three major sections on a level plane
- Not established
- 1983
- Within Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve
Position
- 42.44° N 86.31° W
- Approximate position
- South Haven, Michigan
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Michigan Shipwreck Research Association
Loss narrative, discovery, dimensions
Western Michigan University archaeological thesis
Construction detail, archaeological significance
