F.T. Barney (schooner)

The F.T. Barney was a 19th-century American schooner that sank in 1868. Her wreck in Lake Huron near Rogers City, Michigan, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[3]

History
United States
Name:	F.T. Barney
Operator:	Lewis Wells
Builder:	W. Cheney
Completed:	1856
Out of service:	October 23, 1868
Fate:	Wrecked in Lake Huron
General characteristics
Type:	Schooner
Tonnage:	254 tons
Length:	126 feet (38.4 m)
Beam:	26 feet (7.9 m)
Depth:	11 feet (3.4 m)
Installed power:	Sail
Notes:	Official number 9535[1]
F.T. Barney Shipwreck
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location in Michigan Location in United States
Location	Lake Huron, near Rogers City, Michigan[2]
Coordinates	45°29′9″N 83°50′33″W
Area	23 acres (9.3 ha)
Built	1855
Built by	William Cherry
NRHP reference No.	91001016[3]
Added to NRHP	August 19, 1991

F.T. Barney was built in 1856 by William Cherry[4] of Vermilion, Ohio,[5] and was owned by Lewis Wells, also of Vermillion.[6] In late 1857, she ran aground near Goderich, Ontario, but was successfully towed to Detroit, Michigan, for repairs.[7]

Just after midnight[8] on October 23, 1868, F.T. Barney was traveling from Cleveland to Milwaukee with a load of coal. In Lake Huron near Rogers City, Michigan, the F.T. Barney collided with the schooner T.J. Bronson. F.T. Barney sank in less than two minutes, but no lives were lost.[5] Later investigation determined that both vessels were equally at fault.[8]

The wreck remained undiscovered until 1987.[6] It is in 160 feet (48.8 meters) of water, and is one of the most complete wrecks of a schooner of its era. The masts and deck equipment are still in place.[5]

Wreck

References

1. United States. Coast Guard; et al. (1869), Merchant vessels of the United States, Dept. of Transportation, Coast Guard, p. 78
2. The location of the F.T. Barney Shipwreck is given in the NRIS as "address restricted." However, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary gives the geo-coordinates listed.
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
4. "Vessel Building at Vermilion". Buffalo Daily Courier. May 8, 1856.
5. "F.T. Barney". Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
6. "BARNEY, F.T." Alpena Public Library Vessel Datadase. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
7. "1857 Casualty List". Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. January 28, 1858.
8. "Case # 14131 - The Tracy J. Bronson". The Federal Cases: Comprising Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Federal Reporter, Arranged Alphabetically by the Titles of the Cases, and Numbered Consecutively. West Publishing Company. Book 24: 119. 1896.