Long-lost Lake Huron shipwreck with lifeboat attached confirms tragic tale

Cargo vessel the Ironton sank in 1894 killing five but has been rediscovered ‘remarkably preserved’ in cold waters off Michigan

Even for the Thunder Bay area, a perilous swath of northern Lake Huron off the Michigan coast, the fate of the Ironton seems particularly cruel.

On a blustery night in September 1894, the 191ft cargo vessel collided with a grain hauler, sinking both. The captain of the Ironton and six sailors clambered into a lifeboat but it was dragged to the bottom before they could detach it from the ship. Two crewmen survived.