The ''Superior'' was a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

that operated on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

in the early 19th century.

History

The wooden schooner was built in

Ashtabula Ashtabula ( ) is the most populous city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. It lies at the mouth of the Ashtabula River, on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. At the 2020 census, the city had 17,975 people. Like many other cities in the ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, in 1816 from "the best materials". The following year it was enrolled at Presque Isle,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. On April 13, 1824 it was purchased by a joint group of parties in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The following year, on May 17, it was sold to Reynold Gillet of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. In 1825, an advert was placed with the ''Buffalo Emporium'' showing that the ship was to make voyage from Buffalo to Detroit on March 24, weather permitting. The advert invited interested travellers to apply to the captain "for freight or passage

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

good accommodations". On May 9, 1825 the schooner ran aground near

Cedar Point, Ohio Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. Three years later, on January 29, 1828, it again ran aground on the lake near Buffalo.

Over the falls

In 1829, the ''Superior'' was purchased by businessmen for use in a stunt. A planned dive by Sam Patch into the base of the falls was advertised as a major public event, occurring on October 7. A side-attraction was to have the schooner sail over the falls and crash spectacularly in the lower

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

. However, on October 15 the '' Cleveland Weekly Herald'' reported that the ''Superior'' stunt "eventuated in a perfect failure". The story described how the ship should have "precipitated entire, into the gulf below", but that it became caught on a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

. Over a month later, on November 23, the '' Fredonia Censor'' announced that a severe gale had dislodged the ship and that it went over the falls, having "reached the brink of the Falls without breaking".

References

{{reflist Schooners of the United States 1816 ships Ships built in Ashtabula, Ohio Great Lakes freighters