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John B. Lyon

42.04° N, 80.56° W (rounded) · Ohio waters · lost 1900

42.04° N, 80.56° W · Rounded; not a dive position. Source: Ohio Sea Grant, Shipwrecks & Maritime Tales: John B Lyon.[1]

The wooden ore steamer John B. Lyon foundered off Conneaut, Ohio, in September 1900, when the remains of the hurricane that had just devastated Galveston, Texas, swept across Lake Erie. Nine of her crew died in a storm that also sank the schooner-barge Dundee.

The story

The John B. Lyon was ordered in 1880 by a Great Lakes captain from Thomas Quayle & Sons of Cleveland and launched in the spring of 1881. She was named for a Chicago grain merchant.[1,2] Built of wood, she measured almost 256 feet along the keel and 274 feet overall, with a gross tonnage of 1,710, and she worked in the bulk trades, especially iron ore.[1]

In early September 1900 a hurricane destroyed much of Galveston, Texas. Its remnants tracked north and on the night of September 11-12 swept across Lake Erie with westerly winds that, according to a contemporary newspaper quoted by Ohio Sea Grant, reached about 60 miles an hour with almost the whole length of the lake to build waves.[2,1] The Lyon, carrying iron ore, foundered a few miles off Conneaut, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania line.[2,1]

Nine of her crew died; Wikipedia records seven survivors. First newspaper reports were worse, saying that all but two of a crew of 16 had been lost.[2,1] The same gale sank the schooner-barge Dundee off Cleveland and battered other ships that limped into port.[1,3]

The wreck lies about four miles north of Conneaut. Ohio Sea Grant, quoting a diving guide, notes that her two boilers, chain and a large four-bladed propeller are the most prominent remains.[1] Ohio law requires a permit from the state, approved by the Ohio History Connection, to recover, alter, salvage or destroy anything on a wreck in Ohio's part of Lake Erie.[4]

Sources differ: Night of September 11-12, 1900.

Lives lost: Nine dead (Wikipedia; Kohl, quoted by Ohio Sea Grant). An early newspaper report quoted by Ohio Sea Grant put the toll at 14.

Questions people ask

What sank the John B. Lyon?

A gale on the night of September 11-12, 1900, from the remnants of the hurricane that had devastated Galveston, Texas. She foundered off Conneaut, Ohio, with the loss of nine crew.

What else sank in the September 1900 gale?

The schooner-barge Dundee foundered off Cleveland in the same storm, with the loss of her cook.

Learn more

Museums and groups are linked for further reading; they are not connected with this site.

Look, don't take

Look, don't take. Shipwrecks and everything on them are protected by law; removing or disturbing anything can be a crime.

  • United States: under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act (43 U.S.C. § 2105) the U.S. claims title to abandoned shipwrecks embedded in a state's submerged lands, or resting on them and eligible for the National Register, and transfers that title to the state.[5][6][7]
  • Ohio: R.C. 1506.32 requires a permit from the Director of Natural Resources, approved by the Ohio History Connection, to recover, alter, salvage or destroy abandoned property on, in or near a submerged watercraft or aircraft in Lake Erie.[4]

How Lake Erie wrecks are protected

Diving Lake Erie wrecks is dangerous: cold water, poor visibility, depth, entanglement and boat traffic. Nothing here is dive guidance or a dive position. Dive only with proper training, a qualified operator and current information from the groups that maintain moorings.

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Sources

  1. Ohio Sea Grant, Shipwrecks & Maritime Tales: John B Lyon, Ohio Sea Grant College Program. Accessed .
  2. SS John B. Lyon, Wikipedia. Accessed .
  3. List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes (Lake Erie section), Wikipedia. Accessed .
  4. Ohio Revised Code 1506.32 - Application for salvage permit for submerged watercraft or aircraft, Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Accessed .
  5. 43 U.S. Code 2105 - Rights of access (Abandoned Shipwreck Act: title to abandoned shipwrecks), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of the U.S. Code). Accessed .
  6. 43 U.S. Code 2101 - Findings (Abandoned Shipwreck Act), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of the U.S. Code). Accessed .
  7. 43 U.S. Code 2102 - Definitions (Abandoned Shipwreck Act), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of the U.S. Code). Accessed .

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