Dunkirk Schooner Site
Encyclopedia
Dunkirk Schooner Site is a historic shipwreck
archaeological site
located in Lake Erie
off Dunkirk in Chautauqua County, New York
. It lies about 20 miles off Dunkirk resting in 170 feet of cold freshwater, embedded on submerged lands of New York in the eastern basin of Lake Erie. It is a Great Lakes
schooner
, a two-masted wooden sailing ship, approximately 80 feet in length on deck, 19 feet in beam. It may have been the Caledonia, built on the River Rouge
near Detroit
in 1799 and originally used in the fur trade in the early 19th century. It was commandeered by the British military at the outbreak of the War of 1812
and then captured by the Americans a year later. It was later sold to Pennsylvania merchants who renamed it the General Wayne and used it as part of the Underground Railroad
to ferry runaway slaves to Canada
until sinking sometime before 1850. Alternatively, it may be a nameless 1830s schooner that sank carrying grain.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2009.
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
located in Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
off Dunkirk in Chautauqua County, New York
Chautauqua County, New York
-Major highways:* Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 * Interstate 90 * U.S. Route 20* U.S. Route 62* New York State Route 5* New York State Route 39* New York State Route 60* New York State Route 394...
. It lies about 20 miles off Dunkirk resting in 170 feet of cold freshwater, embedded on submerged lands of New York in the eastern basin of Lake Erie. It is a Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, a two-masted wooden sailing ship, approximately 80 feet in length on deck, 19 feet in beam. It may have been the Caledonia, built on the River Rouge
River Rouge (Michigan)
The River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit....
near Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in 1799 and originally used in the fur trade in the early 19th century. It was commandeered by the British military at the outbreak of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
and then captured by the Americans a year later. It was later sold to Pennsylvania merchants who renamed it the General Wayne and used it as part of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
to ferry runaway slaves to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
until sinking sometime before 1850. Alternatively, it may be a nameless 1830s schooner that sank carrying grain.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2009.