Researchers Uncover What's Believed to Be the Oldest Shipwreck in Lake Erie

In the fall of 1829, a ship had departed from Put-in-Bay, Ohio, but failed to reach its final destination. Now, researchers believe they have finally found its remains, which would make it the oldest shipwreck ever recorded in Lake Erie, if their theory is confirmed.

Remote sensors detected the wreckage three years ago, and the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, has been working to identify the ship ever since then, according to The Blade newspaper in Toledo. Experts believe they have narrowed down their search from 200 possible shipwrecks to three. The museum is now raising money via Indiegogo to fund an underwater survey and partial excavation of the ship.

Strong evidence suggests that the wreckage belongs to one particular schooner—a sailing vessel with at least two masts—that was built in Cleveland in 1821. It was named the Lake Serpent in reference to a carving of a sea serpent on its bowsprit, according to the museum. In the fall of 1829, it left from Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, where crews loaded limestone onto the ship. It's unknown what happened after that, but we do know that the ship never reached its final destination. Local newspapers reported that the bodies of the captain and other crew members washed ashore in Lorain County, located about 25 miles from Cleveland, the ship’s intended destination.

It’s a wonder that the shipwreck was even detected at all. Tom Kowalczk, director of remote sensing for the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, which has a partnership with the Toledo museum, nearly wrote off the wreckage as a “small, barely noticeable anomaly” when he first detected it in 2015.

“The target was so small it was almost dismissed as a natural artifact,” Kowalczk wrote in a discovery report. “We were looking for shipwrecks! Curiosity got the upper hand and the boat was turned for a second look.”

Museum officials hope this finding will reveal unknown details about the design of early 19th-century ships from that region. Shipwreck hunters continue their search for another schooner called Lexington, which sank in the 1840s.