Quick Facts

History & Story

Built in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1868 for the Northern Transportation Company, St. Albans was a wooden propeller-driven passenger and freight steamer operating throughout the lower Great Lakes. Measuring 138 feet in length with a 25-foot beam and carrying 17 staterooms, she served routes including Milwaukee, Ludington, and Manistee during the winter season.

Like many steamers of her era, St. Albans represented a transitional phase in Great Lakes maritime technology. Although powered by a steam engine and single screw propeller, vessels of this period were commonly rigged with auxiliary masts carrying fore-and-aft sails. These sails provided stability in heavy seas, reduced coal consumption when winds were favorable, and offered emergency propulsion should the engine fail. Steam power was advancing rapidly in the late 19th century, but reliability was not absolute — and flexibility mattered.

The vessel had previously encountered navigational hazards. In November 1878, while bound north in dense fog, St. Albans ran aground on Fox Point Reef north of Milwaukee. Tugs were dispatched, and after lightening cargo she was successfully refloated without serious damage. The incident underscores the challenging operating conditions faced by Great Lakes steamers long before modern navigation aids.

In 1880, after more than a decade of service, the vessel underwent structural repairs including replacement frames and arches — typical reinforcement for a hard-working wooden hull exposed to seasonal ice, cargo stress, and repeated lake crossings.

On January 30, 1881, during a severe winter storm, St. Albans was approximately twelve miles offshore when she was discovered to be leaking badly. The breach was located along the port bow. Contemporary accounts describe a hole that extended through the vessel’s iron plating and through the wooden planking of the hull between two frames — damage attributed to repeated contact with heavy lake ice along the port bow.

The captain altered course west by south in an effort to regain Milwaukee, with the alternative of beaching the vessel if necessary. However, the flooding advanced so rapidly that within thirty minutes the fires were extinguished, steam power failed, and the vessel was left without propulsion. Crew members threw cargo overboard in an attempt to lighten her and used blankets and bedding to try to slow the leak, but the inflow could not be stopped.

With the vessel foundering, the captain ordered the lifeboats launched at approximately 1:20 p.m. Twenty crew members and five passengers — including four women — abandoned ship into four small boats. Through snow, wind, and freezing temperatures, the boats stayed together and rowed through the night, ultimately reaching the Milwaukee shoreline safely. Several suffered frostbite, but all survived.

Following the loss in 1881, the vessel’s official documentation was formally surrendered in Chicago on February 13, 1882, closing the administrative record of a steamer that had served the Great Lakes for roughly thirteen years.

On clear days, it’s worth imagining her under partial sail — smoke rising from the stack while canvas caught a following breeze — a symbol of an industry standing between two eras, where steam and sail worked side by side against the unpredictable power of Lake Michigan.

Ice Damage & Hybrid Construction

Although primarily a wooden vessel, St. Albans carried iron plating along portions of her hull — a common reinforcement for Great Lakes steamers operating in ice. The January 1881 breach demonstrates the limits of such protection when sustained ice pressure compromised both the iron plating and timber structure between frames. The breach in the port bow ultimately led to flooding that extinguished the fires and left her powerless.

Historic View

Photo Highlights

Present-Day Dive Overview

Dive Type: Technical
Depth Range: 150 to 165ft (45.7 to 50.3m)
Certification: This site is suitable for divers with training and scuba certification(s) appropriate for the planned depth and conditions.
Depths are approximate and may vary with lake level, seasonal and weather conditions.

The wreck was found by Milwaukee diver Kent Bellrichard in 1975, on the same day he found the EMBA which was intentionally scuttled in 1932.

Resting upright in approximately 165 feet of water, about seven miles east of Milwaukee, the St. Albans is one of the most visually compelling deep wooden wrecks in Southern Lake Michigan. Built in 1868 during the early era of steam propulsion on the Great Lakes, the vessel now rests remarkably preserved in the cold, clear water. Visibility often exceeds 80 feet and can be even greater, allowing divers to take in the full scale of the site.

The bow and stern remain the most intact and photogenic sections. The bow rises cleanly from the lakebed, its lines still well defined and ideal for wide-angle photography. At the stern, the large rudder and propeller remain in place beneath portions of the rail structure. A capstan is still visible on deck, and the fallen smokestack rests on the lakebed off the starboard side.

Midship, the vessel has collapsed extensively. Heavy timbers and structural components are scattered outward in a broad debris field, likely the result of the hull breaking apart during descent. The massive boilers are fully exposed and remain among the most impressive features of the wreck.

Animal skeletal remains are still visible among the debris — physical evidence of the livestock cargo documented in contemporary accounts. Even the 3D survey imagery reveals a large femur resting near the collapsed midship section.

With the main deck accessible around 150 feet, the St. Albans makes an excellent entry-level technical dive for properly trained and equipped divers. Limited penetration is possible in stable areas, but the wreck’s greatest impact comes from its exterior structure, intact bow and stern, and the clarity of Lake Michigan’s cold water.

3D Interactive Model

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