The story
The earliest known shipwreck in the sanctuary, Washington (also called Lady Washington) is a Pennsylvania-built sloop purchased for use on Lake Ontario in 1801. The vessel carried bulk goods between Canadian and American ports during a time when commercial sailing on the Great Lakes was still in its infancy.
On November 6, 1803, Washington departed Niagara, Ontario, bound for Kingston. She disappeared in a severe storm with the loss of all on board. Wreckage washed up near Oswego the following day, but the vessel itself sat undiscovered on the lakebed for over two hundred years.
Using a remotely operated vehicle in 2016, local shipwreck explorers Jim Kennard and Roger Pawlowski discovered the wreck near Oswego. Washington is largely intact with her mast still standing — believed to be the oldest confirmed commercial sailing ship discovered in the Great Lakes. The wreck has extraordinary archaeological potential for understanding early American maritime commerce.
