The wooden two masted brig John Irwin was built in 1845 by Thomas H. Cobb & L.D. Burnell at Black River, Ohio (west of Cleveland).

1850: John Irwin lost her bowsprint, jib boom and cutwater in a collision on Lake Erie with the steamer Arctic.

June 1853: Sank on Gravelly Bay, Lake Erie. Two weeks later raised and towed to Buffalo for repairs.

Last Document Of Enrollment: Cleveland: 4/12/1854.
November 1855. "The brig John Irwin, Capt. Connelly, went down ashore at Two Rivers, in the gale on Monday. She is loaded with iron, nails, glass, apples, cider, and cheese, and was bound to Milwaukee. She is owned half in Chicago and half in Cleveland. The vessel will be a total loss. Part of the cargo will be saved. She lays a short distance below the north pier. Vessel insured for $4,000." Manitowoc Herald, 11/10/1855
The wreck of the John Irwin has not been found yet. An article from the Door County Advocate 5/13/1909 may be in reference to the Irwin:
"The wreck of a vessel was located by Ernest Schmidt's dredge at work making the stilling basin on the north side of the harbor channel at two Rivers. The vessel was loaded with a general cargo of hardware. Old settlers say she came from Buffalo and was bound for Chicago, and stranded at that place in 1853. The name of the vessel can not for a certainty be remembered. The crew of nineteen was rescued from the schooner by fisherman at Two Rivers."

Another vessel wrecked near Two Rivers was the Major Barnum in 1854.