An 1891 Shipwreck, The ‘Atlanta’, Found in Lake Superior, 2022
There are possibly hundreds of undiscovered shipwrecks sitting at the bottom of each of our Great Lakes. This is one that was recently found...
The Atlanta was a 172-foot barge with a cargo of coal, sailing through Lake Superior back in 1891. In a strike of fate – as with the Edmund Fitzgerald – a storm came a-brewin' that the Atlanta couldn't weather. The ship sank in the murky depths of the Great Lake. The difference was, the Atlanta was being towed through the storm by another ship. The storm was causing such violent waves, that the tow rope snapped and the Atlanta broke loose.
The crew manned the lifeboat as the Atlanta sank. After amazingly making it through the storm in that little boat, they finally made it to the Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. In an ironic twist of fate, as they tried to land the lifeboat, it overturned, and only two crew members made it to safety. Five members perished.
When questioned, the two survivors said all three masts broke off during the storm, and the video proves their statement.
The ship remained lost for over 130 years when its remains were finally discovered in early 2022. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society scoured over 2,500 miles, looking for the Atlanta via sonar technology. Upon discovery, they went down over 650 feet to record images of the ship.
The photos below show the old ship wheel, broken mast, pulley, pump, bow, hold...and even the name-board “Atlanta” that proves the identity of the ship.
The Shipwreck 'Atlanta'
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