1816 Shipwreck Find & Exhibits

In the snowmelt of 2001, during a period of low water and ice retreat, mysterious wooden tips began to emerge through the sand - right where beachgoers normally lounge and play.

Marine archaeologist Ken Cassavoy led MHS volunteers, resembling characters in an Indiana Jones adventure, as they set out to uncover the secrets in the sand.

Over three seasons, they unearthed fragments of a two masted ship, an oak hull laden with rock ballast, military buttons of British origin, cannonballs, and more. But what vessel? Why here? And when?

Their research led to Washington D.C. where the clues from Southampton converged with U.S. National Archives documents from a bygone era.  

This was the HMS General Hunter, participant in the War of 1812. In the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, six British vessels clashed with nine American boats for control of the lake. Among the shooting and shifting winds, the British lost, Americans won and repurposed the vessel for transport. 

In 1816, during a Lake Huron storm, the General Hunter was blown off course and beached at Southampton. All crew survived. The ship was subsequently burned and settled into the sand, where it still rests today, having been covered back up.

To learn more about this MHS mystery, you can find an information plaque at the dig site along the boardwalk, read this newspaper account of the excavation or better yet…

Climb aboard this near-scale replica of the General Hunter built by MHS volunteers.The replica and artifacts found in the dig are on exhibit at  the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre 33 Victoria Street North in Southampton. Kids enjoy playing on replica ship complete with tiller and cannons.