Mystery of deadly 1894 Lake Huron shipwreck finally solved, confirming "powerful, tragic story"

Even for the Thunder Bay area, a perilous swath of northern Lake Huron off the Michigan coast that has devoured many a ship, the Ironton's fate seems particularly cruel.

The 191-foot cargo vessel collided with a grain hauler on a blustery night in September 1894, sinking both. The Ironton's captain and six sailors clambered into a lifeboat but it was dragged to the bottom before they could detach it from the ship. Only two crewmen survived.

The gravesite long eluded shipwreck hunters.