Service History
The 36-foot
Byron is a small undocumented lakeshoring schooner built around 1849. Little is known about how the
Byron was operated in her early years other than she spent time sailing lumber products between Manistee, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Final Voyage
On the evening of May 8th, 1867, the
Byron was underway from Milwaukee to Manitowoc when she encountered the upbound
Canton. As the two vessels closed in, the
Canton unexpectedly changed course, turning directly into the
Byron The
Canton's bow struck the
Byron rolling her over. After fifteen minutes the
Byron went to the bottom. Captain Burmeister (of the
Byron), along with his son and one passenger jumped onto the
Canton who took them to shore in their yawl. The crew of the
Canton refused to try saving the
Byron.
Today
The
Byron rests in 135 feet of water twelve miles southeast of Sheboygan. In May of 1977 a commercial fisherman snagged one of the wreck's anchors and soon divers visited the site. Recreational divers recovered much of the
Byron's cargo and equipment.
Today, the
Byron, setting upright, is almost completely covered with a layer of zebra mussels and the hull is filled with a layer of silt approximately one foot in depth. Although the
Byron was reportedly filled with cargo when it was discovered, there is no cargo or artifacts of any kind to be seen.