Identification & Site Information

  • Name: Free Trade (Schooner)
  • Year Built: 1829
  • Builder & Launch Site: St. Ignace, Michigan
  • Vessel Type: Wooden two‑masted Schooner
  • Original Owner: Michael Dousman
  • Dimensions: Approximately 41 ft 6 in length × 13 ft 10½ in beam × 5 ft 3 in depth (12.6 m × 4.23 m × 1.60 m)
  • Tonnage: ~33 old-style tons
  • Final Fate: Driven ashore and wrecked during a gale in Manitou Passage on Lake Michigan, 1835 (loss of two aboard) (greatlakesrex.wordpress.com, arkeonews.net, en.wikipedia.org)

Vessel Type

A small, wooden coastal Schooner equipped with two masts—likely used for regional trade and transportation within the upper Great Lakes.

Description

The Free Trade was a modest-sized trading Schooner, versatile and suited to navigating inland waterways. It likely carried furs, agricultural goods, or general merchandise along routes connecting emerging settlements around Lake Michigan, through the Manitou Passage.

History

Enrolled on 30 April 1830 at Mackinaw, the vessel later came under the ownership of George Fearson (Detroit) and Calvin Britain (St. Joseph) in 1831, with Britain taking full ownership by June 1832. On an unknown spring voyage in 1835, the Schooner was caught in a violent gale in the Manitou Passage—a notoriously treacherous strait between North and South Manitou Islands. The storm drove the vessel onto the shore, and it was destroyed with two fatalities. 

Final Disposition

The Free Trade was wrecked and Abandoned in situ; no salvage efforts or recovery are recorded. No structural remains have been documented or located since.

Located By & Date Found

No site discovery has been made in modern times; the wreck remains unlocated and undocumented underwater.

NOTMARs & Advisories

There are no known charted hazards, obstructions, or notices related to the site. Given the vessel sogged ashore, it likely did not remain as a navigational hazard.

Resources & Links

  • Great Lakes Shipwreck Files confirms build and loss details: “Built 1829, St. Ignace, MI … Date of loss: 1835 … Place: Manitou Passage … driven ashore and destroyed by a gale.” (greatlakesrex.wordpress.com, accuweather.com)
  • NPS – Booms and Busts of the Great Lakes highlights the hazardous conditions of the Manitou Passage, with hundreds of vessel losses in that stretch (nps.gov)

Conclusion

The Schooner Free Trade of 1829 offers a window into early 19th-century maritime trade on the Great Lakes. Built at St. Ignace and operating across Lake Michigan, her loss reflects the region’s recurrent gale hazards. Though small and lightly documented, her story forms part of the broader narrative of maritime expansion and risk during that era.

Suggested Keywords, Categories & Glossary

Keywords: St. Ignace Schooner, Manitou Passage wreck, 1830s Great Lakes maritime, wooden Schooner, Michigan shipwreck
Categories: Early Great Lakes schooners, maritime trade in Michigan, shipwrecks of Lake Michigan
Glossary Terms:

  • Schooner: A sailing vessel with two or more masts, fore-and-aft rigged.
  • Old-style tonnage: An early volumetric measure of cargo capacity, used before modern register tonnage systems.
  • Manitou Passage: A narrow, wind-swept corridor between Manitou Islands—frequent site of 19th-century wrecks.