Edna (1877)
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By The Numbers
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Service History

The two masted wooden schooner Edna was built in 1877 at Chicago and was rated A1.

Last Document Of Enrollment Surrendered: Chicago:6/14/1888:"Vessel Lost".
Final Voyage

"Kenosha, Wis., Oct. 26.-The schr. Edna, of Chicago, loaded with sand and gravel at this port, by some accident filled with water and sunk about one mile off the harbor at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Through the watchfulness of the tug Kitty Smoke, the entire crew of four men were rescued. Especial credit is due to James Mahoney, of the life-saving crew for his promptness in this emergency." Milwaukee Sentinel 10/27/1887

The schooner Edna had left Chicago early in the morning headed to Kenosha with a load of sand and gravel. While approaching Kenosha in moderate seas, the vessel began to leak and within a couple of miles of Kenosha Harbor in became apparent the Edna would not make it. The crew took to the life boat and with the assistance of the tug Kitty Smoke and the lifesavers from the Kenosha Life Saving Station they were rescued without incident. The Edna had gone down so fast that by the time the lifesavers arrived she was on the bottom. The water was only 50 feet deep and therefore the masts would have been protruding above the water.

Last Document Of Enrollment Surrendered: Chicago, 6/14/1888: "Vessel Lost"
Today

"Although the location of her foundering is fairly well known, the remains of the Edna have never been positively identified and her loss has never been documented in any modern literature. Because she foundered in 50 feet of water, her masts would have shown above the surface. As such, she was probably a hazard to navigation since she was directly east of the harbor entrance. It is likely that the Edna's hull remained relatively intact because her gravel cargo would ballast her against the wind, waves and ice, but it is certain that her masts were either removed or worked themselves free." Soundings, Spring 1998, Brendon Baillod

The shipwreck was reported as located in 1995 and recorded in Jerry Guyer's Shipwreck Charts. Reportedly lies in 50 feet of water
 
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