Northern Light
Ship stats
Depth: 12 feet
Coordinates: To be announced
Vessel Type: Wooden two-masted scow schooner
Length: 65 feet
Breadth: 17.3 feet
Gross Tonnage: 39
Cargo: Gravel
Built: 1899 by Captain Frank D. Phelps at Chaumont, New York
Port of Registry: Sackets Harbor, New York
Owner at Loss: likely Dexter Dibble of Sackets Harbor, New York
Date Lost: November 17-18, 1916
Cause of Loss: Stranded
Loss of Life: None of 4
Historical Background
The two-masted scow schooner Northern Light (US 130821) was built by Captain Frank Phelps at Chaumont, New York in 1899. The scow schooner was 65 feet long, 17.3 feet in breadth and had a 5.8-foot depth of hold, measuring 39 gross tons. While Northern Light’s original owner is unknown, it was purchased by Dexter M. Dibble of Sackets Harbor, New York in 1907.
In November 1916, Northern Light was loading gravel excavated at Calf Island when it broke from its moorings in a storm and stranded on the stone bar at the east end of Gill Harbor, Galloo Island. Northern Light remained stranded until the following year when it was pushed over the shoal into Gill Harbor where it sank. The vessel was abandoned in 1917.
Wreck Site
Site photo model of Northern Light. Photo:Joe Hoyt/NOAA
Northern Light lies in 12 feet of water within the sheltered waters on the eastern side of Galloo Island, New York, providing an ideal opportunity for divers and snorkellers to visit this well-preserved but shallow site.
The wreck remains mostly intact but deeply embedded in the sediments, with its bow and starboard side retaining a lower profile and more deeply buried. The bow is almost entirely buried apart from the bulwarks forward of the foremast. The bow retains an intact bowsprit and a small windlass. The deck is interrupted by two large hatches. The forward hatch is divided into two halves by a daggerboard trunk, a rarity in late 19th century ship construction. The daggerboard protrudes from the top of the trunk, which extends above the level of the deck.
Northern Light is among the most accessible and best-preserved examples of a Great Lakes scow schooner within Lake Ontario. These box-like vessels were affordable and easily built, providing cost-effective transportation on the lakes.
In 2023, archaeological documentation of the site was conducted by archaeologists from the National Museum of the Great Lakes and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2024 and 2025, NOAA divers documented Northern Light.