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Summary

Trinidad Shipwreck (Schooner)
In Lake Michigan, near Algoma, Kewaunee County
Builder: William Keefe
Dates in operation: 1867-1881

The remains of the schooner Trinidad are located deep in Lake Michigan. Built in 1867 and measuring 136 feet in length, the Trinidad represents the canal schooner or canaller, a class of vessel that traveled the longest routes of any of the shipping trades. Canallers carried grain grown in the heartlands to the eastern cities and returned with coal to fuel the development of the Midwest. Little historical documentation exists on canaller construction and operation.

The Trinidad is significant for its role in the Great Lakes grain, coal, and lumber trades. Trinidadwas constructed in Grand Island, N.Y. over the summer of 1867. Its keel was laid in May, and the vessel was launched on September 14th. It was notably fitted out with wire rigging, which was still uncommon at the time on the Great Lakes in 1867.

After more than a decade on the Great Lakes, the vessel had been leaking slowly for several years so there was little concern when the mate informed the captain of rising water in the hold. The crew were set to the pumps, but the water continued to rise. Trinidadhad been fitted with extra pumps, so Captain Higgins maintained his course, feeling no immediate danger. At 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday, 11 May 1881, the vessel suddenly lurched forward and began to sink rapidly. Captain Higgins and the crew had no time to gather their personal effects and immediately launched their small yawl boat from the stern.

Most of the men did not have their coats or rain gear and were quickly chilled. Captain Higgins ordered the crew to pull for the lights of Ahnapee, (present-day Algoma, Wisconsin) nearly ten miles distant. The men battled the waves for eight hours, making shore at about 2 p.m. The citizens of Ahnapee revived the frozen crew with food and dry clothes before the crew caught the schooner J.B. Merrill which took them to Chicago

State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing, or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. More information on Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Shipwrecks website.

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