WHITEFISH POINT – The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society this week announced the discovery of the wooden steamship Adella Shores, one of the many ships that “went missing” over the years in the vicinity of Whitefish Point. The Adella Shores went to the bottom of Lake Superior with no survivors on May 1, 1909.
In shipwreck parlance, the reference “went missing” is used to describe a vessel that left the dock and was never seen again. Such vessels vanish with no survivors, no witnesses, and are yet to be located. All of that changed when GLSHS found the Adella Shores more than 40 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in over 650 feet of water.
The Adella Shores had a storied career. Built in Gibraltar, Michigan, in 1894, the 195-foot, 735-ton wooden steamer was owned by the Shores Lumber Company and named after the owner’s daughter, Adella. Adella’s sister, Bessie, christened the new ship with a bottle of water (instead of Champagne or wine) as the family was strict about alcohol consumption. Old time sailors might have seen that as a bad luck omen. The Adella Shores had her share of trouble - she sank twice in 15 years in shallow waters, later being refloated each time and put back into service.
On April 29, 1909, the Adella Shores was upbound for Duluth with a load of salt. The Adella Shores was following the larger steel steamship, Daniel J. Morrell, through a thick ice flow, with the Morrell plowing a path through the ice as they went. As both ships rounded Whitefish Point, they were met by a fierce northeast gale. The Adella Shores was already two miles behind and out of sight of the Morrell. The Adella Shores was never seen again, disappearing with all 14 crew members. Some debris was found, but no bodies. Captain Millen of the Morrell thinks the smaller Shores might have struck a large ice flow, puncturing her hull, and quickly sinking.
In the summer of 2021, GLSHS Director of Marine Operations Darryl Ertel and his brother Dan were out running grids towing the society’s Marine Sonic Technology side-scan sonar system when they found a target.
“I pretty much knew that had to be the Adella Shores when I measured the length of it, because there were no other ships out there missing in that size range,” said Ertel. “As soon as I put the ROV down on it for the first time, I could see the design of the ship and I could match it right up to the Adella Shores.”
“She still tells a very poignant and fascinating story,” said maritime historian and author of “Went Missing,” Fred Stonehouse. “The folks that are out there actively hunting for shipwrecks like the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society are helping to answer that story. And they keep looking for the ones that are not yet told and not yet found. For that, they deserve the highest commendation.”
