The Emily P. Weed was built in Bay City, Michigan in 1890 and was used both as a coarse freight carrier (such as ore) and in the package freight trade. In 1898 the vessel was sold and renamed the Sevona. In 1904 the Sevona was lengthened, the tonnage increased and an electric light plant added.
On September 2, 1905, the Sevona struck Sand Island reef or shoal, New York Island, Apostle islands, Lake Superior, in a gale, and broke in two. Twenty-three people were aboard - 7 lives were lost. The vessel was bound from Duluth to Lake Erie with a cargo of iron ore valued at $220.000. In 1909, the Sevona was dynamited by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as it presented a hazard to navigation. The boilers and engine were salvaged before the explosion took place.
The Sevona lies in 20 feet of water on Sand Island Shoal. The vessel's engine, boilers, and hull plating were salvaged after the shipwreck, along with other scrap metal, leaving only the lower steel hull below the tank top and turn of the bilge. This lower hull consists of two large sections, nearly perpendicular to one another. The aft section (226'4") lies east-west, while the forward section (118') lies northwest-southeast. The stern of the vessel is located at the western extremity of the site; the bow at the southern end. These lower hull sections remain reasonably intact, and consist of lower hull plating, keel, keelson, stringers, floors, and portions of the steel tank top plate. Outside the main sections lies an extensive debris field including plates, frames, beams, and associated structural material. The bottom is flat sandstone.

A dive guide for this vessel is available for purchase.