CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MI— The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society has discovered one of the oldest ships to go down in Lake Superior.
The Nucleus was a barquentine—a sailing vessel with three or more masts. It was downbound from Marquette with a load of iron ore on September 14th, 1869 when it was caught in a bad storm. It began to take on water and the crew had to abandon ship and get into a lifeboat. They were eventually picked up by a schooner and all lives were saved.
The Nucleus was found in 600 feet of water around 40 miles northwest of Vermilion point in Chippewa County.
The Shipwreck Society discovered the Nucleus using a Marine Sonic Technology side-scan sonar in the summer of 2021 and positively identified the wreck last year using the organization’s Remotely Operated Vehicle.
