Michigan researchers have found the wreckage of two ships that disappeared in Lake Superior in 1914 and hope the discovery will lead them to a third that sank around the same time, killing about 30 people aboard a trio of lumber-shipping ships.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the findings this month after confirming the details with other researchers. Rick Mixter, a board member of the society and a maritime historian, called witnessing the discoveries a “career highlight.”
“It not only resolved a chapter of one of the country’s darkest days in lumber history, but also showcased a group of historians who have dedicated their lives to making sure these stories are not forgotten,” Mixter said.
The ships, owned by the Edward Hines Lumber Company, sank in the ice-cold lake on November 18, 1914, when a storm blew in while they were moving lumber from Baraga, Michigan to Tonawanda, New York. Steamship CF Curtis Schooner Barge Selden E. Marvin and Annie M. Peterson was pulling; All 28 people on board were killed.
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society via AP
Society teams found Curtis’ remains in the summer of 2021 and Marvin’s remains within a few miles of the first discovery a year later. The organization operates a museum at Whitefish Point and Conduct regular searches Corey Adkins, the society’s director of content and communications, said the shipwreck aims to tell “the lost history of all the Great Lakes” centered on Lake Superior.
“One of the things that makes us proud is when we discover these things that help piece together what happened to these 28 people,” Adkins said. “It’s been 109 years, but there are probably still some family members who want to know what happened. We’ve been able to start answering those questions.”
The two wrecks were discovered in the lake about 20 miles north of Grand Marais, Michigan, where accounts from 1914 suggested the ship had sunk, Adkins said. The bow of the Marvin and the stern of the Curtiss were also damaged, leading researchers to wonder if the collision contributed, he said.
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society via AP
“We want to consider all of these questions when we go back this summer,” Adkins said.
Video footage of the Curtis wreck shows the steamship’s maintained hull, its wheels, anchors, boilers and still-glow gauges — all preserved in the cold waters of Lake Superior, along with other artifacts.
Another recording captured the team’s jubilation as the words “Selden E. Marvin” on the hull came into clear view for the first time in a video feed shot by an underwater drone at the barge wreck site.
“Since 1914, the first human eyes we’ve seen since World War I,” mused one team member.
Selden E. Marvin Underwater Footage.mp4 by The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Vimeo