Historians in Michigan recently announced that a shipwreck dating back more than a century has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Superior.
The Adella Shores, a wooden steamship built in 1894, was carrying salt to Duluth, Minnesota, when it mysteriously disappeared on May 1, 1909.
None of the ship’s 14 sailors were ever heard from again, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), located in Paradise, Michigan.
The vessel’s name came from the company that built it, which was Shores Lumber Company, and the owner’s daughter — who was named Adella.
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The GLSHS waited until the 115th commemoration of the ship’s disappearance before announcing that the wreck was discovered a few years ago.
The ship was spotted in the summer of 2021 thanks to the GLSHS’s side-scan sonar system.
The Adella Shores was named after the shipowner’s daughter, who was named Adella (inset, left). (Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society)
Researchers found the remains of the ship’s boiler, its cargo hold, its port bow and more on the bottom of Lake Superior.
Although debris was found, there was no sign of the sailors’ remains.
Bruce E. Lynn, executive director of the GLSHS, told Fox News Digital that shipwrecks in the Great Lakes were more common than one might expect.
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“There are a variety of reasons for this, and the weather was often a prime factor,” he said.
“The lakes create their own micro-climates and conditions can change extremely quickly.”
The Adella Shores was spotted in the summer of 2021 thanks to the GLSHS’s side-scan sonar system. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society )
“Weather reporting was not as accurate as it is today, and ships like the Adella Shores could get caught in situations, very quickly, that they were unable to safely get out of,” Lynn added.
“Reduced visibility caused problems, too, and vessel collisions were not uncommon. There were far more ships operating.”
The Adella Shores sank two times before the fatal 1909 incident. Lynn said ice caused the ship to sink twice at docks, but a storm most likely caused the final shipwreck.
“Ships like the Adella Shores didn’t have radar or GPS … so they would often sail ‘blind’ through low visibility situations, sometimes leading to collision.”
The Adella Shores’ port bow was found during the underwater search. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society )
Lynn said that there are between 6,000 and 10,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. Many have not been discovered yet, but officials from the GLSHS have found 12 in the past three years.
As to why the shipwreck wasn’t revealed until this week, historians say that such discoveries require years of research.
“People often ask us why we wait so long to release shipwrecks that we find,” Corey Adkins, GLSHS communications director, said in a press release.
“Every one of these stories is important and deserves to be told with the utmost honor and respect.”
“GLSHS has had some banner years of discovery … and a lot of research goes into each press release, ensuring that we tell the story accurately,” Adkins added.
A cargo winch from the Adella Shores was spotted at the bottom of Lake Superior. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society )
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society was founded in 1978 by “a group of divers, teachers and educators to commence exploration of historic shipwrecks in eastern Lake Superior, near Whitefish Point in Michigan’s scenic Upper Peninsula,” says the organization on its website.
The nonprofit group runs two museum sites on historic properties: The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Whitefish Point Light Station, Whitefish Point; and the U.S. Weather Bureau Building, Soo Locks Park, Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.
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