Identification & Site Information

• Name: Palmetto
• Year Built: 1847
• Built At: Three Mile Bay, Sacketts Harbor, New York
• Final Disposition: Total Loss, Lake Huron
• Date Lost: 15 September 1865
• Final Location: Off Forestville, Michigan, Lake Huron

Vessel Type

Schooner, two-masted wooden cargo vessel, typical of the mid-19th century Lake freighters.

Description

• Hull Material: Wood
• Decks: 1
• Masts: 2
• Length: 34.4 metres / 113 feet
• Beam: 7.3 metres / 24 feet
• Depth: 3.0 metres / 10 feet
• Tonnage (Old Style): 240 tons

Designed for general cargo trade across the upper and lower Great Lakes. Traditional construction methods typical of upstate New York yard outputs during the 1840s.

History

Palmetto was constructed at Three Mile Bay near Sacketts Harbor, NY by builder A. Wilcox and enrolled at Sacketts Harbor. She operated across the Lakes as a standard cargo Schooner during the 1850s and 1860s.

• 1850, Aug 30: Damaged in gale on Lake Michigan; rigging torn.
• 1855, Jul: Ashore near Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
• 1860: Owned by Holt & Mason, Chicago, Illinois.
• 1865: Owned by Johnson, Chicago.

Final voyage ended when she was driven ashore in a storm off Forestville, Michigan on 15 September 1865. She was declared a Total Loss. No indication of salvage or recovery.

Final Disposition

• Cause: Gale-driven grounding.
• Final Status: Total Loss; presumed broken up and unrecovered.
• No record of any crew loss noted in contemporary sources.

Located By & Date Found

No modern discovery or archaeological site is confirmed for Palmetto. No sonar or diver documentation currently exists in official maritime heritage listings.

Notmar & Advisories

None noted.

Resources & Links

• Maritime History of the Great Lakes
• Great Lakes Vessels Index – Bowling Green State University
• Labadie Collection – Ship Histories and Builders
• C. E. Feltner Enrollment Records
• Donald V. Baut Shipping Notes

Conclusion

Palmetto represents the early Schooner era of Great Lakes commerce, operating during a transitional period of Lake shipping growth. Despite being lost without major notoriety, its career reflects the hazards of the pre-weather-warning age of wooden sailing freighters. Its fate — a classic grounding off the Michigan shore — was typical of hundreds of similar vessels from this time period.

Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms

• Keywords: Schooner, wood Hull, Lake Huron, 1840s shipping, grounding
• Categories: Wooden cargo vessels, Lake Huron wrecks, 19th-century schooners
• Glossary:
  • Old Style Tonnage: Measurement system used prior to 1865 for vessel capacity.
  • Enrolled: Registered for legal operation in U.S. waters, primarily used for customs and taxation tracking.