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Onondaga

NOAA divers photograph Onondaga’s helm at the vessel's stern. The diver carries a camera and is swimming above the helm and railing of the stern.
Onondaga’s helm remains in place at the vessel’s stern. Photo: NOAA

Ship stats

Depth: To be announced

Coordinates: To be announced

Vessel Type: Three-masted schooner (converted to schooner barge)

Length: 136.9 feet

Breadth: 26.6 feet

Gross Tonnage: 364

Cargo: 632 tons of

Built: 1870, Henry Roney at the Calvin & Breck Shipyard, Garden Island, Ontario

Port of Registry at Loss: Montreal, Quebec

Owner at Loss: Captain A. LeMay, Montreal, Quebec

Date Lost: November 5, 1907

Cause of Loss: Foundered from a leak

Loss of Life: None

Historical Background

This wreck was discovered off Stony Point by Mr. Tim Shippee and Mr. Dennis Gerber in September 2014. Initially believed to be American, the wreck was documented by NOAA in 2024 and 2025 resulting in the reidentification of the wreck as Onondaga.

The three-masted schooner Onondaga was built in 1870 by Henry Roney at the shipyard of the Calvin & Breck Company at Garden Island, Ontario for Calvin & Breck’s own shipping fleet. Onondaga was 136.9 feet long, 26.6 feet in breadth and had a 11-foot depth of hold, measuring 364 gross tons. The schooner was first registered at the port of Kingston on February 20, 1871 at which time it was assigned Canadian official number 80913.

In 1882,Onondaga was owned by Richard McCarthy of Prescott, Ontario. The following year, Onondaga was converted into a schooner barge. At the time of its loss in 1907, Onondaga was owned by Captain A. Lemay, and registered at the port of Montreal, Quebec.

Early on the afternoon of November 4, 1907, the barges Onondaga and Black Diamond departed Oswego in tow of the steambarge Glengarry, laden with coal for Montreal. The weather was unsettled, with a heavy sea running, and the tow returned to Oswego to shelter for the night. The following morning, with the weather more settled but with heavy seas still running, the tow departed Oswego again.

Around 2:30 p.m., while nearing Stony Point, Onondaga began to leak badly, its hull working in the heavy seas. Onondaga’s crew manned both the hand pumps and maintained steam in the donkey boiler to operate the steam siphon while Glengarry pressed on to reach the shelter of Sackets Harbor, but it was soon apparent that the barge would founder. Onondaga’s crew was taken off by the Glengarry and Onondaga foundered soon after.

With Onondaga’s crew aboard Glengarry and Black Diamond also leaking badly, Glengarry made way to Sackets Harbor as quickly as possible, reaching that town before Black Diamond settled onto the bottom in shallow water. Black Diamond was later released and refloated.

Wreck Site

A photomodel of the schooner barge Onondaga. Photo: NOAA

The wreck of Onondaga lies accessible within recreational diving depths.

The wreck remains upright and mostly intact, apart from a section of the hull which had bulged outwards under the weight of the coal cargo between the bow and amidships. The bow remains intact but split open with the windlass and a bilge pump in place, with an anchor laying on the deck to port. The ship’s donkey boiler, which provided steam power to a hoisting winch, rrests off the starboard side. The winch remains unaccounted for.

Aft of amidships the hull is largely intact. Two hatches are present in the deck. The cabin footing is evident at the stern, though part of the deck has collapsed beneath it. The stern is the highlight of the site, with its height off the bottom, rudder and ship’s wheel in place. Other highlights of the site are a capstan, fallen through the deck, and the ship’s stove.