Pewabic
Package Freighter · United States · Lost 1865 · Thunder Bay & Lake Huron
A Civil War-era passenger steamer sunk in a night collision with her sister ship, becoming one of Lake Huron's deadliest wrecks.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Pewabic was a wooden package freighter built in 1863 that carried copper, iron ore, and passengers on the upper Great Lakes. On the night of August 9, 1865, she collided with her near-sister vessel Meteor off Thunder Bay Island while the two ships tried to pass cargo and news between them underway. Pewabic sank quickly, and a large but uncertain number of those aboard were lost. The wreck became known as one of the worst disasters in Great Lakes history and later a target of repeated salvage attempts for its copper cargo.
Vessel
- 1863
- Peck and Masters
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Wood
- 200 ft
- 31 ft
- 979
- Steam, twin screw
- Not established
Loss
- August 9, 1865
- Collision
- Off Thunder Bay Island, Lake Huron
- Lake Huron
- Not established
- Copper and iron ore
- Not established
- Estimates of the dead range widely, from roughly 25 to over 100; the exact toll was never firmly established.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 165 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 44.965° N 83.104° W
- Surveyed position
- Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
The exact number of lives lost is not firmly established in the sources reviewed; estimates vary considerably.
NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Vessel dimensions, build, loss date, depth, position.
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Pewabic shipwreck site
Loss circumstances and historical significance.
