Researchers discover long lost ship Atlanta in the depths of Lake Superior

DULUTH — Researchers used a remote operating vehicle to dip more than 600 feet below the surface of Lake Superior and through the deep, dark green water spotted a toilet, a half-buried wheel, evidence of broken masts.

Then the big reveal — the long lost ship's name etched into the side.

"Atlanta, it's totally the Atlanta," Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum can be heard saying in video footage. "Just fantastic. This is fricking cool."

The museum announced earlier last week that the schooner-barge, missing for 131 years, was discovered this past summer 35 miles off the shore in Deer Park, Michigan. Since that time researchers have been piecing together the details about the ship and its wreck using the meager resources available from the time period.

The steamer Wilhelm was towing Atlanta and its load of coal on May 4, 1891 when the crews encountered a northwest gale. The line between the ships broke, but Wilhelm was able to power through the storm. Atlanta lost three of its masts and was defenseless.

"They were at the mercy of Lake Superior," said Corey Adkins, content director for the museum based in Paradise, Michigan. "The lake took them wherever the lake wanted them to go."

Atlanta was taking on water and couldn't be saved. Seven crewmembers boarded a lifeboat and paddled for hours toward the Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. The boat capsized before reaching its destination and just two men survived, according to Adkins.

There isn't much known about the crewmembers. Ship rosters from this period were typically determined by who got paid at the endpoint. No endpoint, no names.

The Duluth Evening Herald reported the shipwreck a few days later with the nonchalant headline, "The First of the Season." The newspaper reported that the ship, piloted by Capt. J. F. Knowlton, was built in 1890 and valued at $20,000.

Shipwreck hunting is long, tedious work that is mostly about finding out where the ships aren't, according to Adkins. But when they get a ping on the torpedo-like sonar:

"It's just incredible exhilaration and joy and high-fiving," he said.

The crew behind the find mapped out about 2,500 miles of Lake Superior this past summer and discovered nine wrecks, including The Dot, The Frank W. Wheeler and The Michigan near Grand Marais, Mich. They are still researching the identities of some of the ships.

Darryl Ertel, the director of marine operations, operated the remote vehicle as it roamed around the area near the Atlanta this past August, then illuminated the deck that had buckled, the sink that had dislodged from a countertop, and the window frames that remained in place despite everything. The cold water of Lake Superior and the lack of zebra mussels and the like have kept the ship preserved — like a time capsule, Lynn said.

The researchers had been out for about 10 hours before Ertel directed the vehicle to the crucial shot of the ship's name, written in gold with decorative scrolls. Lynn said they spent about 45 minutes poking around and have plans to go back again.

"We were the first human eyes to see this thing for 130 years — since it sank," Lynn said.