The Strong
The Eliza Strong lies 0.9 miles from Lexington Harbor on a heading of 121 degrees.
LORAN 30847.0 / 49570.4 - LAT/LONG 43*15'77"N / 82*30'66"W
The wreck lies in 28 feet of water.
The Strong lies upright on the bottom with her keel and some decking intact. Her propeller and hundreds of hand forged nails still remain scattered around the ship.
The Eliza Strong was a 205 foot steamer built in Marine City, Michigan. She sailed the lakes for 21 years without major incident. On May 3, 1895, her luck ran out. She ran aground and burned at Morgan's Point, near Port Colborne, Ontario, in Lake Erie. She was bought and raised on June 15. The Strong sailed the Great Lakes for many more years until disaster struck on October 26, 1904. She was downbound near Lexington, Michigan, towing the schooner "Our Son"; both were loaded with white pine lumber. Suddenly, the Strong caught fire. They immediately cast off the tow line to the schooner and headed for shore while the crew worked hard at the pumps trying to put out the flames. The fire spread quickly forcing the crew of 13 to abandon the ship. The Strong burned to the water line before she sank slowly beneath the surface in 25 feet of water. Because she was a hazard to navigation, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to flatten her in 1909. The engineers used 1350 pounds of dynamite to create a clear depth of 19 feet over the wreck.
The Strong is a good dive for beginners. The water is shallow and there is many artifacts to see.
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Copyright © 1996, Bob Brobst, Last Updated - 11/3/96 4:37:57 PM