Lost and found

Two 19th century shipwrecks found in Lake Erie

Friday,  October 31, 2008 10:59 AM

VERMILION, Ohio (AP) - Two 19th century shipwrecks have been found at the bottom of Lake Erie. Explorers say they believe the first wreckage belongs to the Riverside, a 133-foot, two-masted schooner built in 1870 in Oswego, N.Y., that was lost Oct. 13, 1893, about 25 miles north of Cleveland.

A second schooner also was found. Dive team member Dave VanZandt says said it could be the Plymouth, a 101-foot schooner built in 1847 in Huron, Ohio, that sank June 22, 1852, about 25 miles north of Lorain.

Investigators will try to confirm the names by looking for a number assigned by the government and carved into a midship beam.

The discovery by the Cleveland Underwater Explorers was announced Thursday in conjunction with the Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion.

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