AH-WR-1785

Walter B. Allen

Canal Schooner · United States · Lost April 1880: grounded April 10, then sank during the subsequent tow; the source does not separately date that sinking. Documents surrendered April 20, 1880. · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

A two-masted canaller sank during an 1880 salvage tow; the institutional account describes standing masts and a pump still on deck.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Walter B. Allen was a 136-foot wooden two-masted canal schooner built at Ogdensburg, New York, in 1866. She stranded in South Manitou harbor on April 10, 1880, losing her mainsail and anchor. The tug Caroline Williams took her toward Manitowoc with a steam pump aboard, but a northwesterly gale extinguished the pump fire and the crew was removed before she sank. The source does not separately date the sinking, and April 20 was the document-surrender date. The institutional present-site account describes an intact wreck in 165 feet of water with standing masts and the pump still aboard.

Vessel

Built: 1866
Registry: US registry no. 26561
Builder: H.C. Pierson
Yard: Ogdensburg, New York
Material: Wood
Length: 136 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 296.15 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Built for E.B. Akken & Son, as spelled in the institutional narrative; John M. Long of Chicago listed as owner without dates.

Loss

Date: April 1880: grounded April 10, then sank during the subsequent tow; the source does not separately date that sinking. Documents surrendered April 20, 1880.
Cause: Storm
Location: Lake Michigan off Sheboygan, Wisconsin, during a tow toward Manitowoc
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: South Manitou harbor, Michigan (salvage tow) → Manitowoc, Wisconsin (salvage tow)
Cargo: 19,000 bushels of corn shipped by Armour & Dale
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 165 ft
Condition: Institution describes an exceptionally intact hull with both masts standing, a collapsed aft cabin in gallery captions, and the salvage steam pump still chained to the deck.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the institutional Details page

Position

Coordinates: 43.83° N 87.61° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Region: Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Published N 43°49.821′, W 087°36.522′ retained as reported, not claimed as an authoritative coordinate survey. Heavy snow prevented an accurate contemporary sinking position; the separate Today section explicitly supplies the existing wreck depth.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (89/100)

The exact sinking date, numerical crew and casualty totals, and survey provenance of the published coordinates are not established by the reviewed source.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks — Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society
Full construction, service history, final voyage and present-site narrative; website counter zeros excluded as evidence.