Lake Erie shipwreck identified

The National Museum of the Great Lakes and a diving group noted that a shipwreck in the waters of Lake Erie, off the Ohio coast, has now been identified. The Toledo-based museum and Cleveland Underwater Explorers confirmed the groups have identified a shipwreck as the Clough. The exact location wasn't given, but a museum official said the ship's remains were found a few miles from Cleveland. According to a news release from the museum, the Clough was a sailing vessel owned by Baxter Clough, a quarry owner from Amherst. The sailing ship, 125 feet long, was built in Lorain in 1867 but sank one year later, on Sept. 15, 1868, as it was hauling stone. The identification of the wreck has a special meaning for the Cleveland Underwater Explorers. One of the group's founders, David M. VanZandt, died at age 70 on June 1, 2024, while diving the then-unidentified wreck of the Clough. According to his obituary, he had suffered a medical emergency. "His family and friends, while grieved over his loss, find comfort that David died doing what he loved, and that he spent his life in the pursuit of knowledge and adventure," his obituary stated. Since his death, the two organizations worked to identify the Clough. The museum opened a new temporary micro exhibit on the Clough, explaining how it was found and identified. It will be available through April 16. "This discovery represents both a significant chapter in Great Lakes maritime history and a meaningful continuation of David VanZandt's legacy," said Carrie Sowden, director of archaeology and research with the National Museum of the Great Lakes. "We're honored to partner with (Cleveland Underwater Explorers) to bring this story to light and to share it with our community through this exhibit." Cleveland Underwater Explorers, founded in 2001 by VanZandt and Kevin Magee, has worked to find and identify many Great Lakes shipwrecks with a particular emphasis on Lake Erie, the group's website says. Many shipwrecks occurred in Lake Erie's history. While nobody knows how many shipwrecks occurred in Lake Erie, or the Great Lakes as a whole, it was a big number, Sowden told the Register. "Estimates around the Great Lakes are 6,000 to 10,000 wrecks," Sowden wrote. "I usually split the difference and say around 8,000. "In Lake Erie," Sowden continued, "we have documentation on over 2,000 shipwrecks and accidents in Lake Erie. Now, I will note that is shipwrecks and accidents, meaning events where the ship may have been refloated to sail again, etc. She added: "I would venture to guess that maybe there are 1,000 or so left under the surface of the lake but that is a best guess."