In 1892, long before the Titanic’s ill-fated maiden voyage, the Great Lakes witnessed the debut of another ship heralded as a marvel of modern engineering. The Western Reserve, measuring 300 feet (91.4 meters), was one of the first fully steel cargo ships to navigate these waters. Aptly named “the inland greyhound” by contemporary newspapers, the vessel was built for speed and hailed as one of the safest afloat. Its owner, Peter Minch, epitomized his confidence by inviting his wife and children for a summer excursion aboard the ship in August of that year.
The journey, however, ended in heartbreak. On August 30, as the ship approached Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior between Michigan and Canada, it encountered a powerful storm. The freighter, devoid of cargo and riding high, was repeatedly struck by the gale until it cracked apart. The tragedy claimed 27 lives, including Minch and his family, leaving wheelsman Harry W. Stewart as the sole survivor. Stewart managed to reach shore by swimming a mile (1.6 kilometers) after his lifeboat was overturned.
For nearly 132 years, the depths of the lake kept the wreck of the Western Reserve hidden. This past July, however, explorers from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society successfully located the vessel near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Their finding was shared publicly at the annual Ghost Ships Festival held in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with Executive Director Bruce Lynn describing it as a significant achievement for the society.
“This discovery is vital for numerous reasons,” Lynn remarked. “At a time when most ships were crafted from wood, this was an advanced steel structure. Coupled with the notable Minch family, there’s a rich narrative here involving a ‘new tech’ ship, then considered among the safest. Discovering it allows us to safeguard and share this chapter of history.”
Darryl Ertel, the marine operations director of the society, and his brother, Dan, dedicated over two years to the search for the Western Reserve. Planning for this winter, they devised a search grid, and on July 22, they ventured out on the David Boyd, the society’s research vessel. Their initial path had to be altered due to heavy ship traffic, leading them to explore an adjacent area.
Employing a side-scanning sonar device, which extends its reach to both sides compared to traditional sonar, they scanned the underwater landscape. Approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Whitefish Point, they detected an anomaly in 600 feet of water: a ship split into two parts, the bow over the stern. Each segment measured around 150 feet (45.2 meters), suggesting the Western Reserve’s presence.
On August 30, the brothers, accompanied by Lynn, revisited the site with a submersible drone. Equipped with high-intensity lights and a high-resolution camera, the drone captured clear images of a portside running light that matched the starboard running light of the Western Reserve—a piece that had washed up in Canada previously. This artifact had been the only clue salvaged from the ship’s wreckage.
“That was our moment of validation,” Lynn said, reflecting on the discovery with excitement. However, for Darryl Ertel, the realization stirred a different kind of awe.
“Understanding that the 300-foot Western Reserve perished in a storm this distant from safety was unsettling,” Ertel shared, detailing his apprehension through a society news release. “A sudden storm can arise without warning in such treacherous waters.”
Coincidentally, another famous maritime tragedy occurred within 100 miles of this site. The Edmund Fitzgerald, immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot, sank in a violent November 1975 storm near Whitefish Point, with no survivors emerging from that disaster.
