150-year-old sunken ship with ‘checkered past’ discovered at bottom of Lake Superior

Beside the aquatic creatures, rocks and algae in the depths of Lake Superior, a 144-foot ship was resting — a ship not seen in more than than 150 years.

That ship, called the Barquentine Nucleus, was recently discovered at the bottom of the deepest of the Great Lakes, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.

The Nucleus made its final voyage to the bottom of the 600-foot lake in Michigan on Sept. 14, 1869. The historical society said it had previously sunk twice and also rammed and sank a separate ship.

“On that September day in 1869, the Nucleus was caught in a bad storm on Lake Superior and started to take on water,” according to the historical society. “The leak became so bad the crew had to (abandon) ... ship and took to their lifeboat. The Nucleus sank shortly afterwards.”

The Nucleus was discovered using sonar technology in 2021, and it was positively identified as the 1869 shipwrecked vessel a year later.

It’s considered one of the oldest ships to sink in Lake Superior.

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, the historical society shared its first images of Nucleus, which was said to be in “surprisingly good condition.” It was discovered fully intact, with shovels and dinner plates among the items littered alongside it.

“This is a pretty significant shipwreck … considering its age, the fact that it is a barquentine, and we can’t overlook the vessel’s checkered past,” said Bruce Lynn, director of the shipwreck society.

It’s believed that there have been 550 shipwrecks in Lake Superior, and most have been undiscovered, according to the Detroit Free Press.

This story was originally published February 8, 2023 at 2:06 PM with the headline "150-year-old sunken ship with ‘checkered past’ discovered at bottom of Lake Superior."