Jeff LindsayThe ship is covered with quagga mussels, an invasive species.While searching for the Rapid City, a ship that sank near Toronto in 1917, divers came across a promising wreck on the bottom of Lake Ontario. But upon closer examination, they found that this ship covered with mussels but so well-preserved that its two masts still stood straight up was seemingly much older than the Rapid City.Though divers arent sure about the identity of the sunken ship, they believe that its around 50 to 100 years older than the Rapid City. Whats more, the unexpected discovery offers exciting insights about the ships that traveled between the United States and Canada in the 19th century.The Mysterious, Well-Preserved Shipwreck Discovered In Lake OntarioA century after the Rapid City went down in Lake Ontario near Toronto, archaeologist James Conolly of Trent University noticed an unidentified object deep in the lake during a fiber-optic cable survey. He suspected that the wreck was the two-masted schooner Rapid City, so in August 2025, he joined forces with the Ontario Underwater Council to investigate. Jeff LindsayA diver investigating the wreck, which is located 300 feet beneath the surface of Lake Ontario. The dive was incredibly challenging, but it was worthwhile. More than 300 feet beneath the waters surface, the divers found the wreck of a two-masted schooner with both masts still standing an extraordinary state of preservation for a Great Lakes vessel, according to the Ontario Underwater Council. The ship had seemingly been preserved by the extreme depth of water, which had protected it from human activity, such as hobby divers and boat anchors. However, researchers soon began to suspect that the wreck at the bottom of Lake Ontario was not the Rapid City, which had been built in 1884, but a much older ship. In fact, upon closer examination, they determined that the mysterious wreck could be 50 to 100 years older than the Rapid City. Early documentation suggests that the design and construction details may point to an early-19th-century origin, the Ontario Underwater Council stated.The Mysterious Identity Of The Lake Ontario ShipwreckWhile archaeologists dont yet know the identity of the wreck, the ship is so well-preserved that theyve gleaned some clues about when it was built. Jeff LindsayOne of the masts on the unknown shipwreck. The ship is so well-preserved that the masts still stand up straight.[The shipwreck is] rope-rigged, Conolly explained to CBC. Metal rigging is only a common feature after the 1850s. So it immediately puts it into, likely, the first half of the 19th century [and] it doesnt have a centerboard, another feature that emerged post-1850.This suggests that the ship was built in the early 19th century, decades before the construction of the Rapid City. But while the identity of the ship is unknown, it seems clear that it was produced during a time of prolific shipbuilding in the region. In the 19th century, Canada and the United States engaged in highly active trade, which required the construction of hundreds of ships to traverse the Great Lakes. Such activity was profitable but dangerous. Thousands of ships sank in the lakes, and in recent years, underwater archaeologists have uncovered their wrecks: the SS Western Reserve, which went down in 1892, was found in Lake Superior, and the Frank D. Barker, which went down in 1887, was discovered in Lake Michigan, as was the the Margaret A. Muir, which sank in 1893.Jeff LindsayThe details of the ship are still starkly clear thanks to the time its spent at the bottom of Lake Ontario.The shipwreck in Lake Ontario, though still a mystery, stands out because its so well-preserved. But archaeologists are in a race against time to conduct further studies on it. The ship is now covered in quagga mussels, an invasive species, which are eroding the ships fine wooden details. Where a wreck might once have survived intact for centuries, Conolly noted, we now have only decades to study it before biological and environmental factors take their toll.Hopefully, planned studies of the shipwreck during the 2026 dive season can offer more insights about where it came from, who operated it, and what doomed it to sink. After reading about the mysterious, well-preserved shipwreck that divers found on the bottom of Lake Ontario, discover the incredible stories of famous sunken ships from around the world. Or, go inside the harrowing true story of the Andrea Gail, the doomed ship that inspired the movie The Perfect Storm. The post Divers In Lake Ontario Have Discovered A Mysterious, Centuries-Old Sunken Ship With Its Masts Still Standing appeared first on All That's Interesting.