The Wreck Today: On July 28, 1868, the tug SS Coe recovered 2 anchors and 45 fathoms of chain. In September of 1868 a salvage attempt was made and the Morning Star was moved about 10 miles from the spot she sank. Today she sits upright in 60 to 70 feet of water 8 miles north of Lorain Harbor. The huge boiler rises 30 feet from the bottom, and her walking arm and lower portions of the paddle wheels are reasonably intact. The decks are collapsed or missing, and the mowing machines that once could be seen off her starboard side have been covered with silt or moved.
Morning Star
Additional information on the Morning Star is on page 124 of Erie Wrecks West.
Location: 8 miles north of Lorain, Ohio Depth: 65 feet
Coordinates: LORAN: 43752.7 57246.6 GPS: 41 36.813 82 12.531
Lies: bow south
Type: sidewheel steamer
Cargo: passengers, mowing machines, pig iron, boxes of glass and cheese, stone, oil, etc.
Power: vertical beam engine; 60.5” x 11’ stroke cylinder; 38’ sidewheels; Machinery built for the Ocean by T.F. Secor of New York, New York
Owner(s) Detroit and Cleveland Steam Navigation Company, Detroit, Michigan
Built: 1862 at Trenton, Michigan by Alvin A. Turner; Launched June 7, 1862
Dimensions: 243’ x 34’ x 14’ Tonnage: 1,141
Date of Loss: Saturday, June 20, 1868
Cause of Loss: collision with the bark Cortland
Coordinates: LORAN: 43752.7 57246.6 GPS: 41 36.813 82 12.531
Lies: bow south
Type: sidewheel steamer
Cargo: passengers, mowing machines, pig iron, boxes of glass and cheese, stone, oil, etc.
Power: vertical beam engine; 60.5” x 11’ stroke cylinder; 38’ sidewheels; Machinery built for the Ocean by T.F. Secor of New York, New York
Owner(s) Detroit and Cleveland Steam Navigation Company, Detroit, Michigan
Built: 1862 at Trenton, Michigan by Alvin A. Turner; Launched June 7, 1862
Dimensions: 243’ x 34’ x 14’ Tonnage: 1,141
Date of Loss: Saturday, June 20, 1868
Cause of Loss: collision with the bark Cortland
