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The October 1893 gale

· Lake Erie losses: 2 pages · Lives lost on Lake Erie: 48

Also called: Storm of October 14, 1893, Great Storm of 1893

On October 14, 1893, a storm that Wikipedia's shipwreck list links to the Great Charleston Hurricane swept Lake Erie from end to end. The steamers Dean Richmond and Wocoken and the schooners Riverside and C.B. Benson went down, and at least 48 people died, three of them trying to save others.

Wikipedia's list of 1893 shipwrecks records a string of Lake Erie losses on October 14 of that year and attributes them to the Great Charleston Hurricane.[1]

At the eastern end of the lake the Cleveland-built steamer Dean Richmond broke up and sank off Dunkirk, New York. Seventeen of the eighteen aboard died, according to the HCGL vessel record, and the Wikipedia list adds three people who died trying to rescue them.[2,1]

On the Ontario side the steam barge Wocoken, bound from Ashtabula for Duluth with coal and towing the schooner-barge Joseph Paige, foundered about a mile and a half off Clear Creek in some 48 feet of water. Fourteen men died, among them her captain; three who had lashed themselves in the rigging were rescued about 17 hours later.[3,1] The Joseph Paige was driven aground off Long Point.[4]

The schooner Riverside sank about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland with all seven aboard, including her captain and his wife, who was the cook; her wreck was located in October 2007. The schooner C.B. Benson went down in Gravelly Bay off Long Point in about 80 feet of water, taking her crew of six and the captain's wife. The steamer Whittaker was driven ashore at Long Point but was pulled off three days later.[1]

Taken together, these entries put the toll on Lake Erie that day at no fewer than 48.[1,2,3] Wikipedia's list of Lake Erie shipwrecks records the C.B. Benson as sinking in a massive gale on her way to Detroit.[4]

Lives lost: Dean Richmond 17 plus 3 would-be rescuers, Wocoken 14, Riverside 7, C.B. Benson 7, per Wikipedia's 1893 list and the HCGL records.

Ships lost

  • Dean Richmond Lost October 14, 1893 · storm
  • Wocoken Lost October 14, 1893 · storm · location withheld
  • Riverside Schooner lost with all seven aboard, including her captain and his wife, the cook, about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland; wreck located October 6, 2007.[1]
  • C.B. Benson Schooner sunk in Gravelly Bay off Long Point, Ontario, in about 80 feet of water; her crew of six and the captain's wife were lost.[1]
  • Joseph Paige Schooner-barge in tow of the Wocoken, driven aground off Long Point.[4]
  • Whittaker Steamer driven ashore at Long Point, Ontario; pulled off on October 17.[1]

Questions people ask

What ships sank on Lake Erie on October 14, 1893?

The steamers Dean Richmond and Wocoken and the schooners Riverside and C.B. Benson; the barge Joseph Paige and the steamer Whittaker were driven ashore near Long Point.

How many people died in the October 1893 storm on Lake Erie?

At least 48, counting the Dean Richmond (17 plus 3 would-be rescuers), the Wocoken (14), the Riverside (7) and the C.B. Benson (7).

Learn more

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]
  • New York: Education Law § 233 makes it a class A misdemeanor to investigate, excavate, remove, injure or destroy objects of historical or archaeological interest on, in or under state-owned lands without the written permission of the Commissioner of Education.[8][5]
  • Ontario: under the Ontario Heritage Act no one may alter a marine archaeological site or remove an artifact from it without a provincial licence; fines for breaking this rule can reach $1,000,000.[9][10][11]

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.

Sources

  1. List of shipwrecks in 1893, Wikipedia. Accessed .
  2. HCGL vessel record: RICHMOND, DEAN, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University. Accessed .
  3. HCGL vessel record: WOCOKEN, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University. Accessed .
  4. List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes (Lake Erie section), Wikipedia. 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 .
  8. law-ny-edn-233, nysenate.gov. Accessed .
  9. law-on-oha-part6, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Accessed .
  10. law-on-oreg-11-06, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Accessed .
  11. Atlantic (1848 ship), Wikipedia. Accessed .

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