On November 4th 1862, The Bay State steamship left Oswego heading for Cleveland and Toledo. The ship never made it to it's final destination, it sank to the bottom of Lake Ontario during a terrible storm. In October of 2015, the ship saw the light of day once again. 

On board this ship on that faithful night were between sixteen to eighteen persons, seven passengers along with officers and crew. However, there were no records kept of the crew so the exact number is not known. The wreckage and merchandise on board the ship washed ashore just outside the town of Oswego. The life-boat and many papers from the steamer came ashore about three miles west of the city. Unfortunately none of the passengers or crew survived this terrible disaster.

In August of 2015, Rochester natives Jim Kennard and Roger Pawlowski located the shipwreck using a high resolution side scan sonar system. The wreck was found in deep water beyond the safe limits for exploration by recreational SCUBA divers. A remote operated vehicle was used to view the shipwreck.

There are estimated to have been between 6,000 to 8,000 ships that wrecked in the Great Lakes with more than 600 in Lake Ontario. Some still remain at the bottom of the lake today.


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