The St. Peter was constructed and launched at small shipyard near New Baltimore, Michigan in 1868. The schooner was built by master shipbuilder Peter Perry who owned and sailed the ship. The St. Peter was named for its owner and for St. Peter the Apostle, the patron saint of Shipbuilders. On November 20th, 1869, while carrying a cargo of 7,000 bushels of wheat from Toledo to Cleveland, St. Peter struck the reef on the east side of West Sister Island on the eastern side of Lake Erie. The schooner began rapidly filling with water and St. Peter sank in 25 feet of water coming to rest on its side. In early April 1870, the vessel was raised and towed into Sandusky Bay. St. Peter spent 1870 being repaired. Salvor P.L. Oxford sold the restored St. Peter to J.B Scott of Detroit, Michigan, for $4,000. Throughout the 1871 the schooner hauled salt, coal, wheat and barrel staves. Despite a good season the St. Peter was sold in 1873 to J.P. Merrill and J.H. Skeele of Chicago, Illinois. Captain G.W. Flood then became the new owner and master of the vessel in March of 1873. When the St. Peter arrived in Chicago on May 29th, 1873, it struck the schooner Cousin Mary. The St. Peter broke all its bobstays and the Cousin Mary sank at the pier. On June 12th the barge Hershel swung against the St. Peter as it was waiting in a slip upriver from the Chicago Lumber Market. St. Peter had its bulwarks stove in and several stanchions broken. The St. Peter started carrying oats, grain, and corn from Chicago to ports on the eastern side of the Great Lakes.
In late April, 1874, the St. Peter was loaded with 8,000 bushels of wheat bound for Buffalo. Newspapers were concerned at the time that the schooner was overloaded with 10,000 bushels of wheat. On May 5th the St. Peter encountered stormy weather while approximately 35 miles northeast of Milwaukee and began to leak. The crew was put to the pumps, but even after several hours they were not able to keep the water out. When the water reached three feet deep the decision was made to abandon the ship. Everything was left behind. After only five minutes of rowing from the schooner, the St. Peter pitched forward sank bow first, and disappeared beneath the waves. The crew rowed through the night and arrived at Milwaukee the next morning. They reported the loss and caught a ride back to Chicago on another vessel.
The wreck of the St. Peter resides in 450 feet of water in central Lake Michigan. Its intact hull sits upright and the deck, bulwarks, and railing remain intact. A large amount of the ship's hull components are present. The cabin roof blew off from the pressure of the sinking, but fragments remain within the wreckage. The St. Peter was located during a bathymetry survey conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Office of Coast Survey between June 30th and August 23rd, 2022. The wreck was recorded in May 2023 using a ROV (Remote-Operated Vehicle) operated by Dusty Klifman and assisted by Brendon Baillod. The wreck site was investigated in July 2023 by WHS maritime archaeologists and volunteers with a ROV, equipped with multibeam imaging sonar and video cameras, that was supplied and operated by Crossmon Consulting, LLC.