Schooner St James
Drawings are Courtesy of the
Geological Survey of Canada Atlantic,
McQuest Marine
and
Ian L. Morgan © 1997
Marine Artist Ian Morgan
This remarkably intact schooner portrays some excellent details of an era gone by. With the schooner St James two masts still standing 80 feet from the bottom and cabin roof attached, one can only expect that this ship went down slowly. She has a cargo of grain in her hold stocked full along with a thick layer of mud. The wheel is still mounted in place, half-buried in the mud and two bilge pumps, one of which is wooden.
Looking Down from Forward Mast
The scroll on the bow stem resembles a ram’s head flanked on top by the bowsprit. This wreck is important to geologists Steve Blasco and Darren Keyes, who study silt patterns around the Long Point area. The mud line around this wreck shows unusual current action along her hull. The mud line profile drops dramatically at her stern around the rudder. I want to thank Gary Kozak, who found this wreck in 1984 while conducting his intense search for the “Dean Richmond.” We were able to locate this wreck, Schooner St James using Gary’s Loran coordinates.
Ram's Head Scroll
Ram's Head Scroll
The scroll on the bow stem resembles a ram’s head flanked on top by the bowsprit. This wreck is important to geologists Steve Blasco and Darren Keyes, who study silt patterns around the Long Point area. The mud line around this wreck shows unusual current action along her hull. The mud line profile drops dramatically at her stern around the rudder. I want to thank Gary Kozak, who found this wreck in 1984 while conducting his intense search for the “Dean Richmond.” We were able to locate this wreck, Schooner St James using Gary’s Loran coordinates.
I’d also like to thank Art Amos, Bill McNeil, Patrick Folks and the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee for their exhaustive research into the identity of this shipwreck. Our findings relayed to them have been a small portion of the efforts necessary to positively ID a vessel of this sort. Art and his friends have done a remarkable job sifting through the specs on thousands of vessels to come up with the identity.
John Veber at the Sail Winch
I’d also like to thank Art Amos, Bill McNeil, Patrick Folks and the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee for their exhaustive research into the identity of this shipwreck. Our findings relayed to them have been a small portion of the efforts necessary to positively ID a vessel of this sort. Art and his friends have done a remarkable job sifting through the specs on thousands of vessels to come up with the identity.
John Veber at the Sail Winch
The SeaView crew made up of Ray Stewart, John Veber, Steve Brooks and Dan Lindsay fed Art Amos whatever information they could find about the wreck. Details of the bow structure, capstan, rigging, steering gear and dimensions have been gathered along with video and photographs. Early in the investigative dives, I found a loose board in the forward hatch combing while looking for the registration numbers. When pulled out, revealed engraved numbers, which we recognized to mean the vessel’s gross tonnage. The SeaView crew all felt these numbers surely would lead to the identity. But after Art and his colleagues researched vessels that went down in this area and the tonnage information, they said none of them exactly matched the numbers we found. One called the “Bemis” was very close but not exact.
Tonnage #'s on Hatch
Tonnage #'s on Hatch
The SeaView crew made up of Ray Stewart, John Veber, Steve Brooks and Dan Lindsay fed Art Amos whatever information they could find about the wreck. Details of the bow structure, capstan, rigging, steering gear and dimensions have been gathered along with video and photographs. Early in the investigative dives, I found a loose board in the forward hatch combing while looking for the registration numbers. When pulled out, revealed engraved numbers, which we recognized to mean the vessel’s gross tonnage. The SeaView crew all felt these numbers surely would lead to the identity. But after Art and his colleagues researched vessels that went down in this area and the tonnage information, they said none of them exactly matched the numbers we found. One called the “Bemis” was very close but not exact.
Our dive team continued to gather important information about the vessel to confirm the identity. Art and his friends Bill and Patrick got down to some earnest book and enrollment searching and came up with a vessel that never really made big headlines when it went missing. This particular vessel just went missing somewhere on Lake Erie. After acquiring a very speedy response for a copy of a ship enrollment from Bob Graham (marine archivist with the AGLMH), Art was convinced this shipwreck so well known as the “Mystery Schooner X” must be the Schooner St James. The tonnage on the enrollment was an exact match. All the other information we had gathered also matched.
John Veber Ascending the Mast
Our dive team continued to gather important information about the vessel to confirm the identity. Art and his friends Bill and Patrick got down to some earnest book and enrollment searching and came up with a vessel that never really made big headlines when it went missing. This particular vessel just went missing somewhere on Lake Erie. After acquiring a very speedy response for a copy of a ship enrollment from Bob Graham (marine archivist with the AGLMH), Art was convinced this shipwreck so well known as the “Mystery Schooner X” must be the “St. James.” The tonnage on the enrollment was an exact match. All the other information we had gathered also matched.
John Veber Ascending the Mast
Henry N. Barkhausen Award
The archeological report for “The Discovery of the Schooner St James” has been awarded the “Henry N. Barkhausen Award for Original Research In Great Lakes Maritime History” for 2001 by the “Association for Great Lakes Maritime History.” Art Amos and Dan Lindsay, the authors, are very grateful to the association for being awarded such an honorary award. This makes all their time and efforts very special.
Art Amos
Dan Lindsay
Art Amos
Dan Lindsay
Henry N. Barkhausen Award
The archeological report for “The Discovery of the Schooner St James” has been awarded the “Henry N. Barkhausen Award for Original Research In Great Lakes Maritime History” for 2001 by the “Association for Great Lakes Maritime History.” Art Amos and Dan Lindsay, the authors, are very grateful to the association for being awarded such an honorary award. This makes all their time and efforts very special.
The archaeological and archival investigation into fixing the identity of the schooner St James and gathering the evidence needed in support of the claim extended over a four-year period. Much was learned in the process about research procedures and the necessity of a disciplined approach to the research, both in-water and archival. Getting out to a site that was 165′ deep and over twenty miles from shore was at times discouraging for the divers, especially with the unpredictable weather patterns that prevail on Lake Erie.
St James Bow
The archaeological and archival investigation into fixing the identity of the schooner St James and gathering the evidence needed in support of the claim extended over a four-year period. Much was learned in the process about research procedures and the necessity of a disciplined approach to the research, both in-water and archival. Getting out to a site that was 165′ deep and over twenty miles from shore was at times discouraging for the divers, especially with the unpredictable weather patterns that prevail on Lake Erie.
St James Bow
Likewise, trying to conduct a historical analysis without initially having all of the archaeological information necessary for such a task proved a challenge. Add in the fact that the schooner E.S.J. Bemis, like schooner St James, was built in Milan, Ohio, in the mid-eighteen-fifties. Also, their dimensions and rig were similar. Both their tonnages were written down as 226 by most sources. And in the fall of 1870, they foundered within a month of each other, near Long Point, while both were laden with 14,000 bushels of wheat.
Dan Lindsay Filming the St James Wheel
Dan Lindsay Filming the St James Wheel
Likewise, trying to conduct a historical analysis without initially having all of the archaeological information necessary for such a task proved a challenge. Add in the fact that the schooner E.S.J. Bemis, like schooner St James, was built in Milan, Ohio, in the mid-eighteen-fifties. Also, their dimensions and rig were similar. Both their tonnages were written down as 226 by most sources. And in the fall of 1870, they foundered within a month of each other, near Long Point, while both were laden with 14,000 bushels of wheat.
The similarities between the Bemis and schooner St James underlie that when researchers are trying to identify any of the hundreds of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, a cursory examination of the remains is clearly not sufficient for identification. In the past, names have been attached to vessels, either correctly or incorrectly, without following any organized or thoughtful procedure. In some cases, well-intentioned reports have been written that do little more than illustrating a need for proper reflection and guidance in methodology.
Cabin & Wheel
The similarities between the Bemis and schooner St James underlie that when researchers are trying to identify any of the hundreds of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, a cursory examination of the remains is clearly not sufficient for identification. In the past, names have been attached to vessels, either correctly or incorrectly, without following any organized or thoughtful procedure. In some cases, well-intentioned reports have been written that do little more than illustrating a need for proper reflection and guidance in methodology.
Cabin & Wheel
Once a name has been given to a shipwreck, even on the flimsiest of evidence, that name usually stays with it. Over time, it seems that very few people even consider disputing it. This kind of treatment does not do service to the rich marine history of the Great Lakes.
Full View of the Bow
Full View of the Bow
Once a name has been given to a shipwreck, even on the flimsiest of evidence, that name usually stays with it. Over time, it seems that very few people even consider disputing it. This kind of treatment does not do service to the rich marine history of the Great Lakes.
With the technological advances in electronic finding aids and the improvement in scuba diving equipment, an increasing number of shipwrecks are being located and explored, particularly in Lake Erie. The need for a coordinated effort among marine heritage groups to ensure that research on these vessels is carried out properly has never been greater.
Anthony DeBoer Ascending the Fwd Mast
With the technological advances in electronic finding aids and the improvement in scuba diving equipment, an increasing number of shipwrecks are being located and explored, particularly in Lake Erie. The need for a coordinated effort among marine heritage groups to ensure that research on these vessels is carried out properly has never been greater.
Anthony DeBoer Ascending the Fwd Mast
L-R: Steve Brooks – John Veber – Ray Stewart
L-R: John Veber – Art Amos – Dan Lindsay
Drawings are Courtesy of the Geological Survey of Canada Atlantic, McQuest Marine and
I.L. Morgan © 1997