The Clough Revealed: A 156-Year-Old Mystery Solved in Lake Erie’s Depths

A Historic Discovery Emerges from the Deep

After more than a century and a half resting silently on the floor of Lake Erie, a long-lost shipwreck has finally been identified, bringing closure to a maritime mystery that has endured since the Civil War era. The National Museum of the Great Lakes, working in partnership with the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, announced on Wednesday that they have confirmed the identity of the wreck as the Clough, a stone-hauling sailing vessel that met its watery fate in 1868. This remarkable discovery represents a significant addition to our understanding of Great Lakes maritime history, offering a tangible connection to the bustling commerce and maritime activity that characterized the region during the 19th century. The identification process was painstaking and thorough, involving multiple site visits, detailed mapping of the wreck site, and extensive historical research that pieced together fragments of information from various archives and historical records. The wreck now stands as a time capsule, preserving a moment from an era when sailing vessels dominated the Great Lakes, transporting goods and materials that helped build the growing American nation.

The Story of the Clough and Its Final Voyage

The Clough was constructed in Ohio in 1867, during a period of rapid expansion and development in the Great Lakes region. The vessel was an impressive sight in its day, measuring 125 feet in length and 26.5 feet in width, equipped with three towering masts rigged with traditional square sails that would have billowed majestically as the ship plied the waters of Lake Erie. Like many vessels of its era, the Clough was a working ship, built for the practical purpose of transporting heavy cargo across the lake’s often treacherous waters. Its specialty was hauling stone, a vital construction material that was in high demand as cities around the Great Lakes grew and developed. On September 15, 1868, just one year after the ship was launched, tragedy struck. While engaged in its routine work of transporting stone, the Clough sank beneath the waves of Lake Erie, taking with it not just the vessel itself but also a piece of the vibrant maritime culture that defined the Great Lakes during that era. The exact circumstances of the sinking remain unclear, but Lake Erie was and remains one of the most dangerous of the Great Lakes, known for sudden violent storms that can catch even experienced sailors off guard.

A Tragic Connection to the Present Day

The discovery of the Clough is intertwined with a heartbreaking tragedy that struck the underwater exploration community in June 2024. David VanZandt, the 70-year-old founder of the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, was actively working on identifying this very wreck when he lost his life in a diving accident. VanZandt was exploring the newly found shipwreck when he failed to return to the boat, leading to an urgent search operation involving the U.S. Coast Guard and various state agencies. Local divers ultimately recovered his body nearly four hours after he was reported missing, bringing a somber end to what should have been an exciting day of underwater discovery. VanZandt had dedicated significant portions of his life to exploring and documenting the shipwrecks of Lake Erie, driven by a passion for maritime history and a commitment to preserving the stories of vessels and sailors long forgotten. His death cast a shadow over the wreck site, creating an emotional complexity for those who continued the work he had begun. Despite this association with tragic loss, the National Museum of the Great Lakes and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers remained committed to honoring VanZandt’s legacy by completing the identification process with the utmost care, accuracy, and respect.

Honoring a Legacy of Exploration and Discovery

The completion of the Clough’s identification represents more than just solving a historical mystery; it stands as a meaningful continuation of David VanZandt’s life’s work and passion. Carrie Sowden, the director of archaeology and research at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, acknowledged this dual significance in her statement about the discovery. “This discovery represents both a significant chapter in Great Lakes maritime history and a meaningful continuation of David VanZandt’s legacy,” she said, capturing the bittersweet nature of the achievement. The Cleveland Underwater Explorers and the National Museum of the Great Lakes have been working together since 2001 to locate and identify shipwrecks in Lake Erie, a collaborative effort that has resulted in numerous discoveries over the past two decades. Their work is meticulous and time-consuming, requiring a combination of advanced diving skills, underwater photography and mapping techniques, historical research capabilities, and the patience to piece together fragmentary evidence. The wreck of the Clough has been documented through detailed photographs that show its steering wheel and hull, both covered in the growth that accumulates over more than a century underwater, creating an eerie but fascinating tableau of preserved history.

Bringing History to the Public

Understanding that such discoveries hold educational value far beyond the academic community, the National Museum of the Great Lakes and the Cleveland Underwater Explorers have created a special exhibition to share the story of the Clough with the public. Beginning Wednesday and running through mid-April, a “micro-exhibit” at the museum will detail both the ship itself and the painstaking process involved in identifying it. This display offers visitors a rare behind-the-scenes look at the world of underwater exploration and historical research, bridging the gap between modern discovery techniques and the 19th-century Great Lakes commerce that the Clough represents. The exhibit will help visitors understand not just what was found, but how it was found and identified, demystifying the process of underwater archaeology and highlighting the dedication required to bring these stories to light. By connecting the dots between the physical evidence recovered from the lake floor, historical documents and records from the 1860s, and contemporary exploration techniques, the exhibit tells a multi-layered story that spans more than 150 years of Great Lakes history.

The Broader Significance of Shipwreck Discovery

The identification of the Clough adds another chapter to the extensive maritime history of the Great Lakes, a region that has seen thousands of shipwrecks over the centuries of navigation and commerce. Lake Erie alone is believed to contain the remains of approximately 2,000 vessels, each with its own story of triumph, routine work, or tragic loss. These underwater archaeological sites serve as important historical resources, offering insights into shipbuilding techniques, commercial practices, navigation challenges, and daily life during different periods of American history. The work being done by organizations like the Cleveland Underwater Explorers and the National Museum of the Great Lakes ensures that these stories are not lost to time, but rather preserved and shared with future generations. Each identified wreck contributes to a more complete understanding of how the Great Lakes region developed, how commerce functioned before modern transportation, and how sailors and ship owners dealt with the considerable risks of maritime trade. The discovery of the Clough, achieved at such personal cost to the exploration community, reminds us that the pursuit of historical knowledge often requires courage, dedication, and sometimes sacrifice. As visitors view the exhibit and learn about this 156-year-old shipwreck, they will be connecting not only with the sailors of 1868 but also with modern explorers like David VanZandt, who dedicated their lives to ensuring these stories survive.