Keweenaw-Bound Shipwreck Discovered

The remains of a ship that sank 115 years ago while on its way to the Keweenaw have been discovered. Researchers from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Society located the remains of the Nelson in 200-feet of water off the coast near Grand Marais. The Nelson was a three-masted schooner, but was in tow of another vessel when a violent ice storm hit in May of 1899. Of the 10 people aboard, only her captain survived. Captain Haganey was the last to leave the ship, after helping his wife and infant child into a lifeboat. The lifeboat was still tied to the ship as he jumped for it. He missed… landed in the water… and looked up to see the Nelson nosedive to the bottom, taking his family with it. Haganey eventually struggled ashore at the Deer Park Life-Saving Station. The Shipwreck Society is documenting the discovery, and will eventually share the Nelson’s story at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. (Images courtesy of Great Lakes Shipwreck Society)