1889 Shipwreck on St. Lawrence River is Popular Dive Site
Three-masted schooner A. E. Vickery sunk near Clayton in 1889. Author’s collection Remarkably intact, the A. E. Vickery rests on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River. Photo courtesy of Dennis McCarthy. By Richard Palmer One of the most popular dive sites on the St. Lawrence River is the remains of the sunken schooner A. E. Vickery , off Rock Island Light near Clayton. At one time it was thought the name of the vessel was the Victoria, but research proved it was actually the A.E. Vickery , which struck a shoal there late in the evening of August 15, 1889 and sunk. Fortunately everyone aboard got off safely. The three-master left Chicago on August 5 with a cargo of 21,000 bushels of grain consigned to the J. B. Wiser Distillery in Prescott. Shortly before this incident occurred, river pilot Henry Webber Jr. had come aboard at Fisher's Landing to take her down river. Webber was aboard barely 15 minutes when the vessel suddenly struck the shoal at 10:15 p.m. A stiff wind