Margaret A. Muir shipwreck discovered

KEWAUNEE – The Margaret A. Muir, a three-masted wooden schooner, was built in 1872 at the Manitowoc, Wis. shipyard of Jasper Hanson and H.M. Scove. Throughout its career, the ship was used in both the iron ore and grain trades, transporting ore from Escanaba, Mich. to various Ohio ports and returning with coal, and transporting grain from ports such as Milwaukee or Chicago to Buffalo. It suffered many damages, but continued to sail until 1893.
The ship was first owned and operated by Captain David Muir until 1893, when Captain David Clow became co-owner and captain.

The schooner encountered its first obstacle while captained by Muir in 1872, a leak which was quickly fixed. In 1875, the third mast from the bow of the ship was lost in a collision with fellow schooner Senator Blood and it was towed to Toronto. The Blood sustained $600 in damages and was also towed to Toronto.
In April of 1878, Captain Muir warned all mariners on the Great Lakes that “unless some united action is taken to protect vessel interests, there will not be a boat on the lakes in twenty-five years uncontrolled by the railroad companies excepting some little fishing boat, of which the crew will be captain and the captain crew.”

In 1879, the Margaret A. Muir ran aground on North Harbor Reef. Captain Muir used the ship’s yawl to find the tugboat Champion, which unsuccessfully attempted to pull the ship off the reef, breaking its line in the process. The Champion left to get a new hawser, pump and lighter. Later that day, some of the grain cargo was removed, allowing the Muir to continue its voyage to Buffalo.

The schooner sustained rigging damage on April 20, 1880, and lost its foremast and mainmast on May 7, 1880. The steambarge R.J. Hackett and the tugboat Champion towed the disabled vessel to Port Huron and Cleveland, respectively, for cargo unloading and repairs.

On Sept. 21, 1883, three crews of non-union sailors were forced off the vessel while in Chicago. The ship, under tow by Prindiville out of Chicago, encountered congestion at the Clark Street Bridge. The schooner was damaged again in a collision with the Emma E. Thompson on the Chicago River after it was forced off course by another tow. The non-union crew abandoned the Muir after it docked for repairs due to fear of further union activity.

The Margaret A. Muir wouldn’t encounter any more damage for more than four years until Oct. 4, 1887, when the schooner’s foresail was split, the foregaff carried away and some sails carried away in a storm. Two weeks later, the ship was disabled in Cleveland after it had lost its jibboom, foretopmast, maintopmast and three jibs in a gale.

The Margaret A. Muir was used as an example in the unsafe practice of steamers entering and exiting the port of Buffalo at full speed, which would endanger other vessels. While departing port in October 1890, the steamer Northern Light departed at full speed and broke every line on the Margaret A. Muir and the W.H. Rounds while they were docked in port next to the Custom House. The Muir and the Rounds drifted from the pier and the Rounds was thrown forward by a large wave, narrowly missing a collision with the Muir.

Final voyage

While enroute from Bay City to Chicago with a cargo of barreled salt, the Margaret A. Muir encountered a storm and the crew noticed their vessel settling in the water at about 7:30 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 30, 1893.

The crew attempted to turn the craft in the opposite direction when the Muir made a heavy lurch and righted with decks underwater. The crew attempted to bring the ship’s head up to the wind. The ship’s yawl was lowered and the seven crewmembers barely had time to escape. The Margaret A. Muir lurched and sank.

Captain David Clow said, “When the gale struck us, we were in the middle of the lake sailing southward and westward for the west shore of the lake. The wind continued to blow harder by the hour all Friday night, but our boat did fairly well and frequent trials at the pumps showed that no water was coming into the hold. Early Saturday morning the schooner got into the trough of the sea. Huge mountains of water fell on her deck. I do not think she foundered from any water that came through except that which fell on the deck. I rushed after and began cutting and slashing to get the lifeboat free. We didn’t lose a minute’s time and had just gotten into our lifeboat when the schooner keeled over and filled our lifeboat with water. Fortunately, it was not capsized at all, and we succeeded in bailing it out. We were four miles out from shore and had several narrow escapes from drowning on the way in. In getting through the breakers, it seemed as if every man must be drowned, but luck was with us and we all got on the beach safely. The loss of the Muir was not caused by a leak. I am certain of that, for we tried the pump just before she went down. We were simply engulfed by water and drowned like rats in a hole.” The captain’s dog went down with the vessel.