Service History
The three masted wooden barkentine
Mojave was built by the Detroit ship builder Stuart McDonald and launched on Wednesday November 18, 1863.
April 9, 1864: Aground at Middle Shore. Headed for Pigeon Bay for a load of wood from Toledo with a load of hay.
July 7, 1864: Aground on Skillagalee Reef with 20,000 bushels of wheat.
November 8, 1864:Lost between Sheboygan and Big Sable Point about midlake.
Final Voyage
"While en route from Chicago to Buffalo, the new bark
Mojave foundered in Lake Michigan with all on board. The master of the bark
Monarch reported seeing the
Mojave drop into the troughs of the heavy seas that were running at the time, become swamped and disappear. On 12/1/1864, the Milwaukee Sentinel reported the finding of the
Mojave's small boat and cabin doors on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan."
"A Leamington correspondent says: "The barque MOJAVE of Chicago has been raised from a depth of 250 feet. She has been down for ten years and the wrecking company have raised her and taken her into port with her sails set just as she went down. As no trace or mark of human bodies has been found on her, and as the captain, D.N Malott, was a resident of Lemington, great excitement is caused here". Amherstburg Echo, October 8, 1875.
This report seems suspicious considering the depth of water, the difficulty in finding the wreck and then raising it, especially in 1875.