3 Shipwrecks off Sodus Point - "Three Schooners Landing"
Canadian Schooner Orcadian
In 2006, the wreck of the mid 1800s Canadian schooner, Orcadian was discovered in deep water approximately 8-10 miles off of Sodus Point. Shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard, Dan Scoville, and Chip Stevens located the old schooner utilizing sophisticated side scanning sonar equipment. The Orcadian was carrying a cargo of 8200 bushel of wheat destined for Oswego. In the very early morning hours of May 8, 1858, the Canadian schooner Orcadian travelling east to Oswego, New York collided with the schooner Lucy J. Latham that was headed in the opposite direction for the Welland Canal. The Orcadian took on a great amount of water from the large gap in the side of her hull created by the collision and began to sink immediately. Latham was damaged in the collision but did not sink.Captain James Corrigal, his wife, their two children and the crew of the Orcadian took to their yawl boat and were taken safely aboard the Latham, which then put about and returned to Oswego.
Discovery of a Pre-Civil War Era Schooner in Lake Ontario
The 152-year-old Canadian built schooner, Etta Belle, has been discovered in deep water off the southern shore of Lake Ontario near Sodus Point, New York. Shipwreck enthusiasts, Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville, located the schooner utilizing side scan sonar equipment.The oak-hulled schooner, Etta Belle, foundered suddenly during calm weather in the early evening of September 3, 1873. The ship was on route from Little Sodus to Toronto, Canada, and was loaded with a full cargo of coal. The crew took to a small yawl and rowed over 8 miles to shore.
Discovery of 1853 Three Masted Canadian Schooner in Lake Ontario
Queen of the Lakes has been used as the name of three vessels that sailed on the Great Lakes, but none was the longest on the lakes at the time. The first was a three-masted Canadian schooner built in 1853 as the Robert Taylor, measuring 133 feet. It was renamed Queen of the Lakes sometime before 1864. She sank nine miles off Sodus Point, New York on November 28, 1906 while en route to Kingston, Ontario with a 480-ton shipment of coal. She sprang a leak in heavy seas while en route to Kingston and the bilge pumps could not expel the water fast enough and the boat sank, . She rolled over and foundered after her crew launched the yawl. They made it to shore. She sank in 400 ft. of water and you can see in the picture, her three masts are still standing.
Sodus Point History(http://www.historicsoduspoint.com)
Railroad Coal Trestle
Ice Harvesting on Sodus Bay
Railroad Coal Trestle
In 1884 the Northern Central Railroad bought the Sodus Point and Southern Railroad, creating a land-water shipping route from Pennsylvania to Canada.In 1886 a coal trestle, at the west end of the bay, was erected and a commercial coal shipping business started which served all ports on Lake Ontario.In 1927 the trestle was greatly expanded in size so that increased tonnage of coal could be loaded.In 1971, the trestle was being dismantled when it accidentally caught fire and was destroyed.The coal trestle was located on Route 14 as you go north out of Sodus Point, just north of where Sodus Marina is today. The only thing that remains of the trestle, is a concrete abuttment.
Steamship Era
Ice Harvesting on Sodus Bay
Railroad Coal Trestle
The steamship era was an exciting time as the lake steamers came into Sodus Point with coal for Canada and other lake ports.There were passenger services on the bay with docks at Charles Point, Lake Bluff, Bonnie Castle Resort and all of the islands. In Sodus Point, the steamers had their docks located on the south side of Sand Point and were scheduled to meet all the trains and trolleys.The Village's name was changed to Sodus Point and it became a government Port of Entry
Ice Harvesting on Sodus Bay
Ice Harvesting on Sodus Bay
Ice Harvesting on Sodus Bay
In past winters, Sodus Bay would freeze to a depth of 10 - 14 inches. From 1835 to electrification about 1939, two icehouses on the bay supplied homes and businesses with ice. A home required about 300 cakes of ice to cool the icebox all summer. A horse dragged an Ice Plow across the ice to scribe checkerboard cuts. Large floats were sawn and then cut into cakes that could be stored with straw and sawdust between them as late as October in the icehouses.
Battle of Sodus Point Mural
Battle of Sodus Point Mural
Ice Harvesting on Sodus Bay
The Battle of Troupesville, now called the Battle of Sodus Point, occurred on the crest of a hill (now the intersection of John and Bay Streets) on the evening of June 19th,1813 during the War of 1812.A group of approximately 50 patriots (a combination of poorly trained militia and local volunteers with no military training) fired into the lines of advancing British marines as they ascended the hill from the western shoreline.
Three Schooners Landing sits just across the street and to the right from where this battle took place.
Hobos in Sodus Point
Battle of Sodus Point Mural
Sodus Point Lighthouse
If you are under the age of 50, you might not know what a hobo was. A hobo was a homeless person, sometimes referred to as a "Gentlemen of the Road or King of the Road", a career which sprang up during the depression and seemed to die out by the early 1960s. A hobo was more than willing to work, but mostly for a short duration, as their main impetus is travel, the love of the journey above the actual destination. They also were known to accept handouts and sometimes liberated crops and foodstuffs when the opportunity presented itself.
Sodus Point Lighthouse
Battle of Sodus Point Mural
Sodus Point Lighthouse
On May 26, 1824, Congress approved a lighthouse located on Sodus Bay in Sodus Point, NY. Building costs were estimated to be $4500.00 and the government allotted that amount for the building of the lighthouse. A publicly approved parcel of land was purchased from William Wickham for $68.75 and that is where the original Sodus Bay Light was built in 1825. It was of conical construction and was equipped with all of the necessities that a lighthouse of that time frame would need.