Shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn has announced the discovery of the passenger steamer Lac La Belle, one of Lake Michigan’s most sought-after missing ships.
The vessel had been missing in Lake Michigan since October 1872. Ehorn located her upright, intact hull almost 150 years to the day after her loss.
The Lac La Belle was one of the most popular passenger steamers on Lake Michigan. Built in 1864, she spent her early years running from Cleveland to Lake Superior before a collision sank her in 25 feet/7.6 meters of water in the St. Clair River in 1866. She was raised in 1869 and had to be completely reconditioned.
The vessel was then purchased by the Englemann Transportation Company which ran her in the passenger trade to Grand Haven, Michigan. She had departed Milwaukee in a moderate gale on the night of October 13, 1872 with 53 passengers and crew as well as a cargo of 19,000 bushels of barley, 1,200 barrels of flour, 50 barrels of pork and 25 barrels of whiskey.
About two hours into her trip, the Lac La Belle began leaking uncontrollably from an unknown source. The captain turned her back to Milwaukee but the weather deteriorated and huge waves began boarding her, extinguishing her boiler fires. The ship was driven south by the gale for hours in a sinking condition. Around 5:00 a.m., the captain ordered the lifeboats lowered and the passengers and crew watched as she went down stern first.
The heavy seas caused one lifeboat to capsize and eight people drowned. The other lifeboats made it to land and the survivors related their ordeal to reporters.
Ehorn’s interest in Great Lakes shipwrecks began when he became a certified scuba diver in 1960 at the age of 15. He started searching for shipwrecks in 1965, eventually finding several of the Great Lakes’ most interesting shipwrecks, including the big steel automobile carrier Senator, which he located in 2005.
Finding the Lac La Belle stemmed from Ehorn’s love of old wooden steamers:
“As a woodworker myself, I appreciate the hand craftsmanship that went into these early vessels. The Lac La Belle was close to home for me and is a wreck that’s always been on my radar.”
Ehorn will be presenting the discovery in person at the 2026 Ghost Ships Festival at the Inn on Maritime Bay in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on March 7th, 2026. He will show underwater video of the site and tell the story of the discovery.
