A more than 150-year-old Lake Erie mystery has been solved.
Generations after the Clough’s ill-fated voyage on Lake Erie, the shipwreck was found a few miles from Cleveland. The vessel’s discovery and identification involved more than a decade of research, accompanied by more tragedy.
“It’s almost mystical when you start to descend into the Lake Erie water, which is notoriously silty and chilly,” Chris Kraska said of discovering shipwrecks in Lake Erie.
Kraska, the deputy director of archaeology for the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE), was part of the dive team that identified the Clough. He said the discovery was surreal.
“You’re seeing something that people haven’t seen for 100, 150 years. And you realize people died on that wreck, 7 out of the 8 people on board,” he said.
The 125-foot shipping vessel was classified as a bark, a large ship with a combination of square and schooner sails. On its final 1868 voyage hauling stone across the Great Lakes, it met its fate when the weather turned.
“It was caught in a sudden storm. Because it’s carrying stone, if the cargo shifts, you’re going to have a lot of problems. We’re pretty sure that’s what happened,” explained Carrie Sowden, the director of archaeology and research and the National Museum for the Great Lakes.
News clippings from the time period detail the loss of seven crew members, the harrowing survival of the first mate and attempts to locate the missing ship and its crew.
“You realize just how tragic some of these wrecks were,” Kraska said.
The ship was built in Lorain in 1867 and owned by Amherst quarry owner Baxter Clough. According to the Amherst Historical Society, Clough was one of the first to have a direct outlet of his own water by building a dock on the lake and a railroad equipped with steam engines and flats.
Both the quarry and shipbuilding industries remain proud parts of local history.
“People are learning more about Great Lakes history and understanding the United States was built out of raw materials that came out of the Great Lakes,” Sowden said.
She explained the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo will be showcasing that history and the discovery of the Clough in a temporary exhibit.
CLUE began surveying and working to identify the Clough in 2012. Tragically, the organization’s founder and director, Dave VanZandt, died when he suffered a medical emergency while on the first dive of the Clough shipwreck in 2024.
VanZandt’s team and collaborators said it was bittersweet to proceed with the endeavor, but gratifying to finally identify the shipwreck.
“The best thing they can do to help honor him is to complete what he started,” said Sowden.
After 158 years, the team is also completing the Clough’s voyage.
CLUE is actively working to explore, research and identify other Lake Erie shipwrecks. Kraska said hundreds have wrecked in the water over the year and many are waiting undiscovered.
“There’s a lot to be done,” he said.
You can find the temporary CLUE exhibit, highlighting the Clough discovery, until April 16 at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, located at 1701 Front St., Toledo, OH 43605.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
