LAKE SUPERIOR, MICHIGAN—Western Reserve was once deemed one of the safest ships afloat and was nicknamed the “inland greyhound” for her speed along the Great Lakes, but the steamer disappeared beneath the waves of Lake Superior in 1892. Its final resting place was unknown for 132 years. According to a statement released by Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, the wreck site has finally been located in 600 feet of water near Whitefish Point, Michigan. Western Reserve was one of the first all-steel vessels on the Great Lakes and was built to break cargo shipping records. On August 30, 1893, shipping magnate Captain Peter Minch took his family aboard the 300-foot ship for an ill-fated late summer cruise up Lake Huron to Two Harbors, Minnesota. They were soon caught by a summer squall that sank the vessel, killing 27 of the 28 souls on board. Recently, researchers from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) located the Western Reserve wreck using side-scan sonar and an ROV. “Every shipwreck has its own story, but some are just that much more tragic,” said GLSHS executive director Bruce Lynn. “It is hard to imagine that Captain Minch would have foreseen any trouble when he invited his wife, two young children and sister-in-law with her daughter aboard the Western Reserve for a summer cruise up the lakes. It just reinforces how dangerous the Great Lakes can be––any time of year.” To read more about the wrecks of the Great Lakes, go to "Shipwreck Alley."
