Vernon Maritime Trails Marker
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Vernon Maritime Trails Marker
 
Details
Attraction
Description
From the moment she was launched, onlookers predicted bad luck for the elegant packet steamer Vernon. She was fast and beautifully adorned, but a math error by her designer left her top-heavy and unstable. Built for the Booth Fish Company of Chicago, the vessel regularly carried passengers and cargo between Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Chicago. On Oct. 28, 1887 the Vernon departed Frankfort, Mich., bound for Lake Michigan's western shore. Onboard were 40 to 50 passengers and crew. About 10:00 p.m. a notheast gale brewed, forcing the ship to struggle throughout the night against heavy, rolling seas. Immense waves finally swamped the vessel, flowing through open hatches and cutting the steamer's power. The helpless Vernon was no match for the storm's fury, and by 4:00 a.m. the following morning she had sunk in deep water off Two Rivers, Wisc. Sole survivor, Axel Stone claimed that the steamer's captain had overloaded his ship, leaving her side-loading hatches only six inches above the water. Cargo overflowing from the holds had blocked the forward hatches, and they could not be closed. These circumstances had left the Vernon dangerously susceptible to flooding-the likely cause of her sinking. Today, the Vernon rests in 200 feet of water about five miles due east of Rawley Point. Well-preserved by Lake Michigan's cold, fresh water, the shipwreck lists to starboard amid a field of cargo blown from her packed holds. Her forward gangway hatches are indeed open, just as Stone described.
Attraction
Location
Body of Water: Lake Michigan
Trail Name: Mid Lake Michigan
Year Built: 2005
Nearest Address: Rogers Street Fishing Village
Nearest City: Two Rivers
County: Manitowoc
Zip Code: 54241
Latitude: N 44° 09.171'
Longitude: W -87° 33.730'
Attraction
Features
Open to public?: Yes
Mooring buoy?: No
Mooring buoy in place?: No
Snorkelable?: No
Dive guide?: No
Trails sign?: Yes
National Register?: No
 
Map
 
Nearby
Attractions (8)
Continental Maritime Trails Marker
Point Beach State Forest
Rawley Point Lighthouse
Rogers Street Fishing Village
Rouse Simmons Maritime Trails Marker
S.C. Baldwin Buoy
Two Rivers North Pierhead Light
Vernon Maritime Trails Marker
Shipwrecks (33)
Aetna (1878)
Alaska (1869)
Arrow (1852)
Bessie Boalt (1868)
Boss (1881)
Boss (1882)
Continental (1882)
Crane & Front Loader Debris Field
Dart (1867)
Grace Patterson (1880)
View 23 more
Shipwrecks (33)
Aetna (1878)
Alaska (1869)
Arrow (1852)
Bessie Boalt (1868)
Boss (1881)
Boss (1882)
Continental (1882)
Crane & Front Loader Debris Field
Dart (1867)
Grace Patterson (1880)
Humko (1946)
James Navagh (1857)
John Irwin (1845)
LaSalle (1874)
Lookout (1855)
Magellan (1873)
Major Anderson (1861)
Major Barnum (1849)
Maria (1878)
Mary Ann Scott (1871)
Milton (1867)
Minnesota (1847)
Nellie Church (1867)
Nevada (1882)
Oleander (1848)
Oliver Culver (1855)
Planet (1855)
Rochester (1831)
Rouse Simmons (1868)
S.C. Baldwin (1871)
Speed (1866)
Tubal Cain (1866)
Unnamed Scow
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