Thomas Friant
Steamer · Lost 1924 · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior
A wooden steamer built for Lake Michigan excursions, Thomas Friant was crushed by Lake Superior ice in January 1924.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Duncan Robertson & Company built the wooden steamer Thomas Friant at Grand Haven, Michigan. She carried freight, passengers and excursion parties until she burned to the waterline in December 1908, and was rebuilt as a fishing tug in 1910. Her Bayfield owners tried her in year-round Lake Superior service in 1923. On January 2, 1924, she was trapped in an ice floe off Bark (or Barque) Bay; ice pressure holed her hull and the crew abandoned her, rowing through the night to Minnesota's North Shore. Divers found the wreck in 2004.
Vessel
- 1883
- Official no. 145380
- Duncan Robertson & Company
- Grand Haven, Michigan
- Wood
- 96 ft
- 18.5 ft
- Not established
- Steam
- Not established
Loss
- January 2, 1924
- Ice
- Lake Superior, off Port Wing, Wisconsin, after being trapped in an ice floe off Bark Bay
- Lake Superior
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 2004 (Ken Merryman, Jerry Eliason, Kraig Smith and Randy Beebe; first thought to be Robert Wallace)
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Position
- 46.86° N 91.55° W
- Approximate position
- Port Wing, Wisconsin
Position from the Wisconsin Shipwrecks database (site surveyed 2018); displayed rounded.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
The number aboard is not stated in the source reviewed.
Wisconsin Shipwrecks (Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant) — Thomas Friant
Specification table, ownership, service history, final voyage and survey text read; underlying newspapers and registries not independently inspected.
