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5. David W. Mills

David W. Mills

Historical Background

The wooden bulk freighter David W. Mills was built in 1874 by Thomas Quayle & Sons of Cleveland, Ohio as Sparta. As built, Sparta was 202-feet 4 inches long with a breadth of 34 feet and a 18-foot 6 inch depth of hold, measured 1017.19 gross tons and 741.33 net tons. As-built, the vessel was propelled by a single cylinder high pressure steam engine.

Sparta was constructed for and owned by the Cleveland Transportation Company, a company whose operations were closely associated with the Cleveland Iron Mining Company. Between 1874 and 1889, Sparta was operated by Cleveland Transportation in the Lake Superior iron ore trade, carrying iron ore from Escanaba and Marquette, Michigan to Lake Erie ports. For much of its early career, Sparta towed the consort schooner barge Sumatra, built at Cleveland by Quayle & Peck the same year, allowing Sparta to move larger cargoes than could be carried in its hold alone. In 1889, Sparta was sold by the Cleveland Transportation Company, subsequently passing through a series of owners including the Orient Transportation Company of Rockport, Ohio (1889) and the Mills Transportation Company of Port Huron (1893) before being purchased by the Port Huron Transportation Company of Marysville, Michigan in 1901. Throughout this time Sparta was rebuilt several times and, in 1897, was reduced to a single deck by having the planking of its intermediate deck removed.

In 1904,Sparta suffered a fire while docked in Toledo, Ohio. Its stern was burned nearly to the waterline, almost ending the bulk freighter’s career. Sparta was towed to Marine City, Michigan where its machinery was removed and installed in its sistership Havana. Sparta was rebuilt in 1906–1907,its machinery being replaced by a steeple-compound engine from the bulk carrier Argonaut, which had burned to a total loss the previous year. In 1907, Sparta was renamed David W. Mills returned to service.

On August 11, 1919, David W. Mills was en route from Montreal to Sodus, New York, where it would take on a load of coal. There was low visibility on the lake due smoke from forest fires in Canada. At 4:45 a.m., while sailing near shore in an attempt to sight either the Fairhaven or Oswego Lights, Mills struck Ford Shoals, going hard aground. While plans were made to salvage the bulk carrier, subsequent storms broke the vessel apart by early October, and the vessel became a total loss.

In 2019 and 2025, NOAA divers visited the wreck of David W. Mills, collecting photographs of the site. Documentation of this large site by NOAA archaeologists is ongoing.

Wreck Site

• Lower Hull
• Boiler
• Site Plan

Photo model of David W. Mills' lower hull (bilge). Photo: Joe Hoyt/NOAA

Photo model of David W. Mills' firebox boiler. Photo: Joe Hoyt/NOAA

David W. Mills is among Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary’s most accessible and popular shipwrecks, resting in 11 to 17 feet of water, just 4 miles west of Oswego. As the wreck lies in shallow water, with portions of the wreckage visible from the surface, it can be visited by paddlers, boaters, snorkelers, and divers.

David W.Mills’ hull is broken into large sections that are widely scattered across the southern side of Ford Shoals in 11 to 16 feet of water. Among the hull remains are a 190-foot-long section of the bottom of the hull, the port bow, and the port and starboard sides of the hull and the rudder. Much of David W. Mills’ machinery remains on the site, including the boiler, propeller shaft, propeller, and numerous components associated with Mills’ steeple compound engine. The ship’s windlass and two anchors lie at the western end of the site.

David W.Mills’ lies on Ford Shoals, an area which historically witnessed numerous shipwrecks. A fore-and-aft compound steam engine resting among Mills’ wreckage and often thought to be from Mills actually belongs to the steam tugboat Dauntless, which wrecked on Ford Shoals on April 28, 1905.