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St. Peter

Historical Background

The three-masted schooner St. Peter was built in Toledo, Ohio, in 1873 by David F. Edwards. St. Peter was 136.7 feet long, with a 26-foot beam, and a 12-foot depth of hold, measuring 289.97 gross tons. Intended for trade with Lake America through the Welland Canal, the schooner’s dimensions were designed to maximize its carrying capacity, some 18,000 bushels of grain, while still being able to pass through the locks of the canal. Prior to 1881, these locks limited a vessel’s maximum overall dimensions to 150 feet long, 26 feet wide and a draft of 9 feet, meaning St. Peter was among the largest class of so-called “canal-built” schooners, or “canallers,” participating in trade between the Upper Lakes and ports on Lake America.

St. Peter was owned by and built for the shipping firm Skidmore & Abair of Toledo, Ohio, alongside its identical sistership, John Wesley, which had been launched the previous year.

Skidmore and Abair operated the schooner until 1894, when they sold it to Josephine Griffin of Toledo. Josephine Griffin’s husband, Captain John Griffin, would serve as its master for the next four years.

On October 26, 1898, St. Peter departed Oswego laded with 607 tons of coal consigned to S.C. Schenk Co. of Toledo, Ohio. Around 10:30 p.m., St. Peter was approaching the Niagara River and was hours from the shelter of the Welland Canal when it was struck by a fierce westerly gale with winds reportedly reaching 70 knots. The crew reduced sail and ran eastward with the wind and building seas in an attempt to weather the storm.

Around 4:00 a.m., St. Peter was sighted by the Charlotte Life Saving Station. The tug William A. Proctor was dispatched to assist, but returned without having found the schooner.

Later on the morning of October 27, around 10:00, Proctor was again dispatched after St. Peter was again reported, now in distress, approximately 10 miles to the east of Charlotte. While east of Fairbanks Point in the town of Williamson, and with Proctor within 4 miles, St. Peter was struck by two successive waves, listed heavily to port, before righting and foundering shortly after 11:10 a.m.

Captain John Griffin, the sole survivor of the wreck, was found by Proctor clinging to one of the topmasts. Among those lost were Josephine Griffin, and at least four crew, though this later number could not be confirmed in the days following the loss.

Wreck Site

Three-dimensional site photo model of St. Peter shipwreck. Click an hold using your mouse to rotate the model. Photo: NOAA

St. Peter is one of Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary’s most popular and well-preserved shipwreck sites resting within recreational diving depths. St. Peter lies in 120 feet of water, making it an advanced dive.

St. Peter remains largely intact, though portions of the stern sustained damage during the sinking. The bow and bowsprit remain intact and are the among the highlights of the dive. Other interesting features at this site include the windlass, bilge pumps, a capstan, a winch, and the ship’s rudder.

St. Peter was discovered August 14-15, 1970 by divers Robert Bristol and Tom Mulhall after a three-year search for the wreck. Between 1970and 1985, Bristol, Mulhall, and a team of divers documented the site and recovered nearly 200 artifacts under a permit from the New York State Museum. Among the artifacts are the ship’s steering gear and wheel, raised in 1971, and an anchor, raised in 1972. Many of these artifacts are presently displayed by the Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society. In 2002, the Pultneyville Historical Society led efforts that resulted in the listing of St. Peter in the National Register of Historic Places, the only listed wreck within the sanctuary at the time of its 2024 designation.

In 2019, NOAA divers visited St. Peter, collecting photographs and capturing a photo model of the site. Further documentation of the site by NOAA archaeologists is ongoing.