#schooner barque ironton

[ltwilliammowett]

The bowsprit of the schooner- barque Ironton is seen in Lake Huron off Michigan's east coast, 1894

In 1894, it saw the great steamer Charles J. Kershaw, towing the Ironton on that fateful September night, collide with a grain tug and be forced to cut ties to avoid entanglement and another collision, leaving the Ironton and her seven crew members alone and adrift in the cold and dark.

When it became clear the ship would sink, the Ironton's captain and six sailors climbed aboard a lifeboat. But in their panic, no one thought to detach the lifeboat from the ship, and the crew members were pulled down alongside the ship. Only a few survived this disaster.