Shipwreck discovered in Great Lakes comes with remarkable story
Photo via Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
WHITEFISH POINT, Mich. (FOX 2) - One-hundred years after it sunk, shipwreck hunters located the hull of the freighter Huronton at the bottom of Lake Superior.
Almost as miraculous as the discovery is the story accompanying its sinking.
The 238-foot freighter was empty when it set off on Lake Superior in 1923. It was traveling upbound through smoke from forest fires and heavy fog when it collided with another bulk freighter that punched a hole in the Huronton.
The crash would have immediately sunk the Huronton if not for the quick thinking of the captain of the Cetus after it struck the other ships' port side.
Instead of cutting the power, the captain kept the engines on and effectively plugged the hole on the side of Huronton, giving its crew enough time to abandon ship. Everyone made it off before realizing they forgot one member: the crew's mascot which was a bulldog.
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That's when the Huronton's first mate sprung into action, hopped back on the sinking ship, and saved the dog before carrying it back to the Cetus.
Photo via Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
The story was recounted by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in a release announcing the group's discovery of the shipwreck.
"Finding any shipwreck is exciting. But to think that we’re the first human eyes to look at this vessel 100 years after it sank, not many people have the opportunity to do that." said GLSHS Executive Director Bruce Lynn, "I think about some of the more interesting aspects of what we do as an organization, but the searching for, discovery and documentation of shipwrecks… especially if it’s a vessel that sank a hundred years ago, is pretty exciting because, it’s truly a part of our past."
The Huronton was found 800 feet below the surface by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Society's sonar.
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The society also announced the ship served the U.S. during World War I.