(Scow-Schooner, 1867)

Identification & Site Information

  • Vessel Names and Former Names: Home
  • Official / Registry Number: 42215
  • Year Built: 1867
  • Builder: Ellsworth & Davidson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Launch Location: Milwaukee, WI (U.S.)
  • Home Port: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Owners:
    • Initial (1867) – Henry Schroder
    • Final (1876) – Captain Thomas Anderson
  • Dimensions:
    • Length: 84.90 ft (25.88 m)
    • Beam: 23.20 ft (7.07 m)
    • Depth of Hold: 6.30 ft (1.92 m)
    • Gross Tonnage: 91.77 tons
  • Hull Material: Wood
  • Propulsion: Sail (2-masted Schooner rig)
  • Vessel Type: Scow-Schooner, designed for lumber transport
  • Cargo at Loss: Lumber, bound for Racine or Chicago
  • Date of Loss: November 14, 1876
  • Lives Lost: 0

Wreck Coordinates & Site:

  • Body of Water: Lake Michigan
  • County: Racine, Wisconsin
  • Nearest City: Racine
  • Latitude: 42° 44.602′ N
  • Longitude: 87° 46.476′ W
  • Depth: Shallow surf zone; largely destroyed on impact
  • Condition: Broken up on shore; some remnants likely incorporated into pier area or sand-covered

Vessel Description

The Home was a two-masted wooden scow-Schooner, a flat-bottomed cargo vessel built for the lumber trade. Its broad beam and shallow Draft allowed navigation into small harbors and river mouths with heavy loads of timber. Scow-schooners were a common sight on Lake Michigan in the mid-19th century, often unpowered aside from sail, and usually not heavily insured.

By 1874, Home had an insurance rating of B2 and was valued at $2,500. It frequently carried lumber from northern Wisconsin to southern Lake Michigan ports.

Service History

The Home had a series of incidents and recoveries during its brief career:

  • May 1869: Sprang a leak on Lake Michigan carrying lumber; later repaired.
  • November 1869: Aground on Lake Michigan at Kelderhouse Pier; successfully released.
  • April 1874: Sank in Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie; raised with a $600 loss.
  • 1874 Insurance: B2 rating; valued at $2,500.
  • Final enrollment surrendered: Milwaukee, November 30, 1876 – “Total Loss.”

Final Voyage and Loss

On November 14, 1876, Home departed for Racine (some reports indicate Chicago) with a full cargo of lumber. Near the Racine harbor entrance, the vessel’s steering gear failed, and the Schooner drove ashore against the north pier, striking the wreck of the Schooner Scott (lost ten years prior).

  • The bottom was stove in, and the crew of five men escaped in the lifeboat.
  • The vessel broke up rapidly in the surf.
  • The Life-Saving Service salvaged roughly half of the lumber cargo.
  • The vessel was uninsured, though the cargo was insured.

Newspaper report:

“All attempts to release the scow Home are fruitless, and it now is proposed to strip her to pieces. It is thought when she went ashore she struck the sunken wreck of the Scott, which went down in the same spot ten years ago, and thus stove in her bottom beyond repair.”
— Milwaukee Sentinel, Nov. 17, 1876

Located By & Present Condition

The Home’s remains were broken up in the surf at Racine, with minimal structural remnants surviving. Modern surveys note:

  • Likely incorporated into shoreline sediment near the north pier
  • Low archaeological potential beyond scattered timbers
  • Site impacted by ice and wave action over 140+ years

No confirmed modern dive site is established for Home, unlike deeper Racine-area wrecks.

Notices to Mariners

  • None recorded at the time of loss beyond local harbor and newspaper reports.
  • Wreckage cleared for navigation after break-up.

Resources & Archival Links

Conclusion

The scow-Schooner Home is representative of the small lumber carriers that supported Wisconsin’s late-19th-century coastal economy. Its repeated mishaps and final destruction at Racine reflect the vulnerabilities of lightly built scows in open-lake conditions. While not a prominent dive site, its loss contributes to the narrative of Lake Michigan’s hazardous surf zones and port approaches during the Great Lakes lumber trade era.

Keywords / Categories

  • Region: Lake Michigan, Racine County, WI
  • Vessel Type: Scow-Schooner, Lumber Carrier
  • Cause of Loss: Steering Failure, Grounding, Breakup in Surf
  • Period: 19th Century, 1870s
  • Dive Difficulty: N/A – Wreckage destroyed
  • Hazards: Surf, Sand Burial, Pier Proximity