120 years after it sank, long-lost whaleback is found 650 feet deep in Lake Superior

DULUTH - The vessel's name was long rusted away, but shipwreck researchers recognized underwater images of the pig snoutlike bow as one of the final whalebacks to be discovered in Lake Superior.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the discovery of Barge 129 on Wednesday — a day shy of the 120th anniversary of its sinking. The cargo ship, built in Superior, Wis., and based in Duluth, was found 35 miles off Vermilion Point in 650 feet of water. It was discovered in 2021 alongside eight other wrecks, including the Atlanta, but researchers didn't positively identify the ship until they sent down a remotely operated vehicle in August.

"People have been searching for that for a long time," said Corey Adkins, communications director at the historical society. "We got it."

Video and still images on the historical society museum's website show a ship in pieces — seemingly ripped in half. The tow line is still connected, along with the identifying snout.

"There's the three rings," Darryl Ertel Jr., the historical society's director of marine operations, says in a video from the discovery, a nod to the piggish bow. He describes the ship as a "rust bucket."

Barge 129 was carrying iron ore on Oct. 13, 1902, when stormy waters caused the tow line to snap between it and the steamer Maunaloa. The tow ship turned back to reconnect, but instead collided with it, Maunaloa's anchor ripping into the side of the barge. The crew of eight men, plus Capt. Josiah Bailey, were all saved by the men aboard Maunaloa. The whaleback reportedly sank within 10 to 15 minutes.

"[Barge] 129 didn't have propulsion and was at the mercy of Lake Superior," Adkins said.

The Duluth Herald at the time reported that the ship was worth $50,000 and that the 2,360 tons of ore that went down with it was worth $10,000. Adkins added that the captain received $50 and the crew $35 for lost clothing.

Whaleback ships were designed by Capt. Alexander McDougall, a Great Lakes seaman based in Duluth. The ships had a curved body, often described as cigar-shaped, and when loaded with freight laid low in the water and resembled a whale.

"Old schooners were sloppier and heavier — these were meant to glide through the water better," Adkins said. "They were built to be unsinkable, but most of them sank."

According to an article on the Minnesota Digital Library, the last whaleback in service was the Meteor. It ran aground near Gull Island in 1969, and the hull was damaged. Rather than fix it, its owners donated it to the city of Superior. It's now a museum at Barker's Island.

Barge 129, at 292 feet long, was launched in mid-May 1893 on a day that offered visitors a look at the Christopher Columbus, a ship that would be a shuttle for the Chicago World's Fair.

"Superior never saw a prettier day and nearly every man, woman and child who was not required to remain at home, including hundreds from Duluth, found their way to the American Steel Barge Company to witness the launching of Barge 129 and inspect the great whaleback passenger boat Christopher Columbus," the Minneapolis Tribune reported.