By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
When it comes to identifying Erieau’s mystery ship, the experts are on the case.
That was evident as members of the Ontario Marine Heritage Committee probed the wooden ribs of a hull uncovered in a violent storm last December.
According to marine historian Patrick Folkes, the remnants belong to a small sailing schooner from the 19th Century, but pinpointing which one it is remains to be seen.
“It could be the Lewis Ross or the Mary Francis or it could be one that we don’t know,” Folkes told The Voice as members of the non-profit measured the wreck.
“To me it looks like it’s part of the hull of a small schooner,” he explained, adding the wood is “likely” white oak – a durable wood popular with ship builders of the time.
The Lewis Ross, bound for Toronto, was loaded with blocks of limestone quarried on Pelee Island.
“She got in trouble in the fall of 1889 and it was wrecked close to the entrance of the (Erieau) harbour,” Folkes said, but no lives were lost.
“It may be that she went to pieces very quickly,” Folkes explained. “So, the question here, is that if further investigation finds block stone, you’ll know it was the Lewis Ross.”
Folkes said the other candidate is the “obscure” Mary Francis, lost in 1865, close to the Erieau harbour entrance.
“We don’t have many details on that one,” he said.
Marine archeologist Scarlett Janusas, who was onsite making a drawing of the partial wreck, said the group will do its best to identify it.
“Part of our thing that we do is to assist individuals and groups with anything to do with marine heritage,” she said. “We’re all about the promotion of marine heritage and the protection of the same.
“Ontario’s marine heritage is finite and we consider this a very worthy cause,” she said.
Examining wrecks is one thing, but preserving them is another, as costs to properly dry and mount ships are steep.
However, Folkes said there may be another way, similar to a wreck the committee has worked on in Southampton. The General Hunter, discovered two years ago on the Lake Huron shore, was a wooden ship utilized in the War of 1812. It’s artefacts, including a cannon, were salvaged, Folkes said, but ultimately the ship was returned to the sand.
A huge hole was dug in the sand and the ship reburied, Folkes said, and the site is marked with a commemorative plaque.
The same could be done in Erieau, he added, because the wooden ribs will quickly deteriorate if uncovered.
“If you take that hull out and it’s exposed to the elements, it will disintegrate within a year,” Folkes said.
Erieau resident Jeff Vidler, a former Erieau harbourmaster who has taken the wreck under his wing, admits preserving it is too expensive and isn’t going to happen.
Burying the wreck is the likely solution but it’s not Vidler’s ideal choice.
“It is what it is,” he said.
Vidler has led a Go Fund Me effort and raised $1,500, with plans to donate the money to marine heritage volunteers.
