From 1974 to 1975 an Archaeological excavation was carried
out to explore for and to recover objects of historical or archeological
interests on land under the waters of the St. Lawrence River at and about the
head of Carleton Island (Town of Cape Vincent, NY), including areas know as
Merchant’s Cove, Shank’s Bay (North Bay) and Government Bay (South Bay), in
Jefferson County, NY.
A permit was issued under provisions of New York State
Education Law Section 233 to the Underwater Archeology Committee of the New
York State Divers Association (NYSDA)* in cooperation with the Thousand Islands
State Park and Recreations, acting for Historical Preservation of the State of
New York Office of Parks and Recreation.
The NYSDA Underwater Archeology Committee (NYSDA UAC) was listed as the
Permittee for the permit and other organizations were listed as
cooperating. Some of the waters covered
by the permit (see Historic Bay Closed) were in private hands and the NYSDA AC
also had a letter from the land owner giving them permission to explore and
excavate.
1974 Sculiere Letter
Permit information
1974 Sculiere Letter
Permit information
The focus of this survey was a wreck located in North Bay on Carleton
Island
The NYSDA UAC was organized with a committee chair Howard
Trowbridge and a Project Manager Peter Perrault. Both were degreed engineers and
certified scuba divers. The site manager
was Raymond “Skip” Couch and a research committee was set up by Dennis McCarthy. NY State provided some training classes in Albany
UAC notice Dec 1973
UAC Divers Digest Mar 1974 training notice
Carleton Island Underwater Archaeology Project
Carleton Island Vessel Project Field Manual
New York Office of Parks and Recreation set up a
preservation lab in Sackets
Harbor
The first phase of the ship excavation was in 1973 by placing of a
wire grid structure over the site, followed by detailed drawings of individual
squares until the entire site was mapped.
The mapping produced a detailed drawing of the site. This allowed detailed measurements of the ship’s key features. North Bay Wreck Drawing 1998 North Bay Wreck Video
During the years 1974 and 1975 the ship was excavated during
the summer. Artifacts were recovered
bagged, recorded and sent to Sackets Harbor.
Photos were taken on site of artifacts as well as features on the wreck. This
included a hole chopped in the bottom of the wreck near the stern indicating that it had
purposely been sunk.
By 1976 the NYSDA AC had completed its work and the Archeologist
with New York Office of Parks and Recreation was left to write his report and
re-cover the wreck site.
In 1976 an unpublished "Preliminary Report on the Underwater Archaeological Investigations on Carleton Island, St. Lawrence River, N.Y". was drafted by the State Archeologist, Joseph Murphy.
A 1976 Parade Magazine article document much of the project
from the divers perspective History beneath the St. Lawrence
In 1974 at the Annual Meeting and Conference of NYS History
and Waters, Dennis McCarthy presented a paper “Ships and Shipping on Lake
Ontario before 1800”. The presentation outlined the NYSDA research committee’s work that identified the most probable identity for the North Bay Wreck. This was the Haldimand, a British vessel built in 1771 at Oswegatchie (near present
day Ogdensburg NY) and taken out of service at Carleton Island in 1783. She was
converted into a “sheer hulk” to be used in maintenance of other ships.
Research Committee Documents
National Maritime Museum Greenwich England, Latter 2
Royal Military College Letter Feb 1974
Public Archives of Canada information
Royal Military College Letter Feb 1974
Public Archives of Canada information
NYSDA UAC also did a preliminary survey of a site of a submerged
pier in North Bay
* NYSDA was a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting
and protecting the sport of skin and scuba diving, organized in 1961.