8-Year-Old Boy Discovers 200-Year-Old Shipwreck in Ontario Using Metal Detector
In 2023, during a family hike at Point Farms Park on Lake Huron, Ontario, an 8-year-old boy named Lucas Atchison made an extraordinary discovery with a metal detector he received for his birthday. What started as a simple treasure hunt turned into a historic find when Lucas uncovered a nearly two-century-old shipwreck.
Initially, Lucas found a small steel nail embedded in a piece of wood, prompting him to dig deeper. As he and his family carefully excavated, they uncovered more nails and wooden remains — evidence of an intact shipwreck. They promptly reported their discovery to park authorities and the Ontario Maritime Heritage Committee.
Archaeologists examined the site and identified the vessel as a wooden sailing ship with two masts and a double hull, indicating it was built for transporting cargo. While the ship’s exact identity remains a mystery, researchers believe it could be the St. Anthony, built in 1856. This vessel was known to carry grain from Chicago to Buffalo before it wrecked in Lake Huron that same year.
To confirm its identity, experts are consulting 19th-century ship insurance catalogs, which specify the number of nails used in different ship hulls. This historical research may reveal whether the ship was indeed the St. Anthony or another vessel from that era.
Lucas’s accidental discovery has sparked excitement among historians and archaeologists, offering a rare glimpse into maritime history beneath Ontario’s waters.
