Schooner Lumberman

Type: Wooden schooner, three-masted <br> Built: 1862, Hilyne C. Litchfield, Blendon’s Landing, Mich.;<br> Rebuilt 1889<br> Sank: April 7, 1892<br> Length: 126’ Beam 23’<br>Cargo: Lumber, wood products<br> Depth: 60’<br><br> Four miles offshore from this spot, 60 feet beneath the surface of Lake Michigan, lies the well-preserved wreck of the Lumberman. For three decades, the three-masted wooden schooner hauled lumber, barrel staves, railroad ties, and other forest products from isolated towns on Lake Michigan to the hungry markets of Chicago.<br><br> On April 6, 1893, Captain Orin Vose was sailing northward for the first load of the season. It was his first trip in command of the Lumberman. Suddenly, fierce southwest winds slammed into the ship. The crew frantically tried to shorten sail, but the winds were too strong. The Lumberman capsized and sank.<br><br> Entangled in the rigging, Captain Vose almost drowned. But he and the crew climbed to the top of the masts, which protruded above the water when the Lumberman settled on the bottom. Three hours later, the passing steamer Menominee rescued the sailors from their cold, precarious perch.