132 Year Old ‘Titanic’-Like Shipwreck Discovered In Lake Superior

On the evening of August 30th, 1892, the all-steel Western Reserve, touted as "one of the safest ships afloat," set out on a cruise along Lake Huron. By all measures, it was supposed to be a safe voyage. The owner of the Western Reserve, Captain Peter G. Minch, even brought his wife, two young kids, sister-in-law, and daughter along.

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So no one could have predicted that in a few tragic hours, the ship would be overtaken by a storm, break in half, and sink to the bottom of Lake Superior, leaving only one survivor to tell the tale. Now, 132 years later, shipwreck historians have discovered the wreckage.

Two Years of Searching

The journey to find the Western Reserve started two years ago when the Director of Marine Operations at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), Darryl Ertel, and his brother/First Mate Dan Ertel, stumbled upon the wreckage while doing side-scan sonar looking for the ship in the summer of 2024.

After the initial scans confirmed the wreck matched the known features of the ship, the GLSHS sent remote-controlled vehicles 600 feet below to get a glimpse of the wreck, showing that the ship did indeed break in two.

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What's Next For The Western Reserve?

According to Corey Adkins with the GLSHS, the remains of the Western Reserve will stay exactly where they are. A 1980s law made it illegal to take anything off the bottom lands of the Great Lakes, so this and the fact that it is over 600 feet below mean the wreck will remain undisturbed. However, a documentary on the Western Reserve is in production. Keep an eye on the Museum's website for updates.

You can find footage of the GLSHS exploring the wreckage below.

This ship has echoes of the famous shipwreck of the Titanic, a ship dubbed unsinkable until it crashed into an iceberg and eventually split in half. Could this wreck be considered the Titanic of the Great Lakes?