User:GreatLakesShips/Sandbox/Archive 1

SS Merchant was an iron hulled package freighter that served on the Great Lakes of North America from her construction in 1862 to her loss in 1875 on Lake Michigan. On October 6, 1875 while bound from Chicago, Illinois for Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a cargo of 30,000 bushels of corn and 1200 barrels of flour, she ran aground on Racine Reef off Racine, Wisconsin due to a navigational error and broke up, eventually having all her machinery salvaged in 1877. Today her wreck lies fragmented and scattered over a large area in about 25 ft of water.

Merchant today
The remains of Merchant lay forgotten on until sometime in the 1990s, when some of her remains were located on Racine Reef. Her wreck lies in 25 ft of water. The wreck is badly broken up and scattered over a large area, with only minor structural components remaining. Maritime historian Brendon Baillod dubbed Merchant "one of the most significant, most historic vessels lost in Wisconsin waters".