Crews discover 153-year-old shipwreck in Lake Superior

(WXYZ) — The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the discovery of the 144-foot Barquentine "Nucleus," which sank more than 150 years ago in Lake Superior.

According to the society, the "Nucleus" was found under 600 feet of water, about 40 miles northwest of Vermilion Point on Lake Superior.

The "Nucleus" sank on Sept. 14, 1869, when it was going downbound from Marquette with a load of iron ore. It had already sunk twice, and in 1854, it rammed and sank the S.S. Detroit in Lake Huron.

On Sept. 14, 1869, the Nucleus was caught in a bad storm on Lake Superior and started to take on water. The crew reportedly abandoned ship and took the lifeboat, with the "Nucleus" sinking shortly after.

Thankfully, the crew did not suffer loss of life after they were picked up by the schooner "Worthington," but another ship kept on steaming and left them behind before the Worthington showed up.





The "Nucleus" is one of the oldest ships to go down along the Lake Superior Shipwreck Coast.

"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. The wreck site is littered with shovels too…and a few dinner plates, which speaks to their work and shipboard life," Shipwreck Society Executive Director Bruce Lynn said in a statement.

The society used a marine sonic technology side-scan sonar in the summer of 2021 and positively identified the wreck in 2022

"The stern was intact. It had a straight back stern and then the port side also was intact. And so, I was more excited about it because at first, I thought it was totally in pieces on the bottom," Society Director of Marine Operations Darryl Ertel Jr. said.

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