Identification Card

Description

The Hattie Hutt was a late-19th-century wooden Schooner, launched as F.B. Stockbridge in 1873 at Saugatuck, Michigan. Typical of A2-class Great Lakes cargo schooners, she was designed for bulk freight such as grain, lumber, and coal. At ~295 tons and ~105 ft long, she was robust, adaptable, and representative of the era’s utilitarian sailing freighters.

By the 1920s, with wooden schooners obsolete, she was laid up in Kingston Harbour where she burned in 1929. In 1937, her remains were scuttled deliberately at Wolfe Island Graveyard.

History

Construction & Early Service (1873–1890s): Built at Saugatuck, Michigan, as F.B. Stockbridge, she carried grain and lumber across the Great Lakes. Over her career, she changed owners multiple times, including Louis Hutt of Chicago and Ole Hansen of Manitowoc.

Canadian Service (1900s–1920s): Later owned by Ottawa Transportation Co., then Frank Granville (Chatham, ON), and finally James Oliver (Kingston, ON). She served mainly in bulk cargo, part of the declining fleet of wooden schooners overshadowed by steam and steel vessels.

Demise: In 1929, while laid up in Kingston Harbour, the vessel was destroyed by fire. Rather than leave the Hull as a derelict, it was later stripped and towed to Wolfe Island. In 1937, it was scuttled as part of the organized Kingston ship graveyard, along with other retired wooden hulls.

Final Disposition

The Hull was intentionally sunk in 1937 at Wolfe Island Graveyard, Nine Mile Point, joining other obsolete wooden schooners and steamers. Today, the wreck lies broken but recognizable, with collapsed timbers, wire coils, and scattered fittings visible.

Located By & Date Found

Rediscovered in fall 2003 during Wolfe Island Graveyard technical dive surveys (Northern Tech Diver, reported by Wrecks and Reefs).

NOTMARs & Advisories

No official Notices to Mariners (NOTMARs). Dive advisories caution of collapse hazards, wire entanglement, and fragile timbers.

Dive Information

Access: By boat from Kingston
Entry Point: Wolfe Island Graveyard, mooring near Sarnor wreck (“John’s Run”)
Conditions: Cold freshwater, variable Visibility, strong currents possible
Depth Range: ~98 ft (29.9 m)
Emergency Contacts: Canadian Coast Guard, Kingston sector
Permits: Ontario’s Heritage Act prohibits artifact removal
Dive Support: Local charters from Kingston (technical diving recommended)

Crew & Casualty Memorials

No fatalities associated with final loss (scuttling). Earlier incidents recorded damage but no documented loss of life.

Documented Statements & Extracts

“The Schooner Hattie Hutt, once F.B. Stockbridge, burned in Kingston Harbour in 1929 and was later scuttled at Wolfe Island in 1937. She lies broken but still tells the story of an era when wooden sail carried the bulk of Great Lakes commerce.” — Adapted from Wrecks and Reefs.

Registry, Enrollment & Insurance Trails

Registered at Saugatuck, MI (as F.B. Stockbridge, 1873). Later Canadian registry under multiple owners. Registry struck after destruction by fire, 1929. Insurance payouts not traced in accessible records.

Site Documentation & Imaging

Resources & Links

• Wrecks and Reefs – Wolfe Island Graveyard
• Maritime History of the Great Lakes
• Illinois Digital Library – historic vessel records (libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu)
• Ontario Heritage Act – legislation on submerged cultural resources
• Wrecks and Reefs – Wolfe Island Graveyard documentation
• Libsysdigi (Illinois Digital Library) – vessel record extracts
• Thumbwind – Great Lakes Schooner histories

Shipwreck Record Card