Sevona Maritime Trails Marker
Gallery
img
Sevona Maritime Trails Marker at Sand Bay
img
Sevona Maritime Trails Marker
 
Details
Attraction
Description
About 4 miles from here lies the wreck of the Sevona, one of the largest carriers on the Great Lakes when it was launched in 1890. She was originally named the Emily P. Weed. When the Sevona departed Superior's Allouez ore docks on the evening of September 1, 1905, the skies showed no sign of an impending storm. She carried a crew of twenty-four, including four women, and 6,000 tons of iron ore, bound for Erie, Penn. By midnight a full gale was blowing. At 2 a.m., Captain Donald S. McDonald turned for the shelter of the Apostle Islands. Navigating blindly through the storm, the Sevona ran hard aground on Sand Island Shoal shortly before 6 a.m. The Sevona broke in two almost immediately, trapping the captain and six men forward, unable to reach the lifeboats. They constructed makeshift rafts from hatch covers, but all seven perished. The cooks, passengers, and engine room crew in the stern were inexperienced with boat handling, but they took to the lifeboats, plunged and corkscrewed their way through the wild surf, and finally made shore safely. One of the women later wrote, 'It was a terrible fight to keep the small boat afloat!' Today, the Sevona lies broken up, approximately one and a half miles East of the Sand Island Lighthouse. Marked by a seasonal mooring buoy, her remains rest in 25 feet of water near Sand Island.
Attraction
Location
Body of Water: Lake Superior
Trail Name: Lake Superior
Year Built: 2009
Nearest Address: Little Sand Bay Boat Launch
Nearest City: Sand Bay
County: Bayfield
Zip Code: 54814
Latitude: N 46°56.80200'
Longitude: W -090°53.39100'
Attraction
Features
Open to public?: Yes
Mooring buoy?: Yes
Mooring buoy in place?: No
Snorkelable?: No
Dive guide?: Yes
Trails sign?: Yes
National Register?: No
 
Contacts
Name Phone Alt Phone Email Website
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 715-779-3397
 
Map
 
Nearby
Attractions (1)
Sevona Maritime Trails Marker
Shipwrecks (5)
Fred and Will (1867)
Herring King
Kakabeka (1885)
M.R. Warner (1873)
Sevona (1890)
Shipwrecks (5)
Fred and Will (1867)
Herring King
Kakabeka (1885)
M.R. Warner (1873)
Sevona (1890)
View fewer
© 2025 - Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society