EERIE

Discovery of 1800s Shipwreck in Lake Huron Confirms Tragic Story

The Ironton, which sunk in 1894, was found largely intact at the bottom of Lake Huron in 2019, authorities announced Wednesday.

The discovery of the Ironton, an 1894 shipwreck that long eluded shipwreck hunters, has confirmed the tragic story told by the ship’s surviving crew—that scrambling shipmates piled into a lifeboat only for it to never detach, sending both vessels to the bottom of Lake Huron. Only two crew members survived the ordeal, with the rest perishing in the chilly waters off Presque Isle, Michigan, after the Ironton collided with a wooden grain carrier that also sank but without fatalities. The Ironton was discovered in 2019 but it was only announced Wednesday. Images and video from the shipwreck show the Ironton “remarkably preserved” and the lifeboat still intact and attached to the Ironton’s stern. Officials kept the discovery a secret until now so they could examine the site uninterrupted first. They plan to place a buoy at the site so divers can explore the Ironton themselves.