The Incredible Ghost Ship Near Cleveland That Has Been Left In Ruins
By Nikki Rhoades|Published March 18, 2024
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
Perhaps the thought has never crossed your mind, but when you’re in Cleveland, shipwrecks are just a stone’s throw away. Lake Erie has many shipwrecks, but since they’re not particularly visibile, they’re easy to forget. Right around the corner, however, is an actual ghost ship in Lorain, Ohio. A ghost ship is a vessel with no crew, and they’re often still afloat. Our Northeast Ohio ghost ship is… well, she’s not floating anymore, but she has quite the story to tell. Don’t start writing your emergency message in a bottle yet, because this wreck isn’t recent, and it isn’t even guaranteed to be there forever. Check it out:
Driving through Lorain, the views of the Black River are stunning.
This view from the Loften Henderson Bridge shows just how striking the local river is. It's a tributary of Lake Erie, and it's roughly 12 miles in expanse. But it has an unusual feature that most areas in Ohio can't boast... do you see if in the lower left corner?
This ship was originally launched as the Romeo and Annette, a Canadian passenger ferry that entered service in 1949.
If you look closely, you can see the phantom remains of "CANADA" on the ship's hull. This was part of her name... she was renamed to Upper Canada in the 1960s. While the ghost ship appears ancient, it first popped up in the area around 2003.
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According to records, the ship was originally docked legally.
It was inspected when it first appeared in the area, but an owner was never found. Time took its toll on the ship, and it has slowly sunk into the mud in the 20 years since it was abandoned. To this day, exactly how it ended up anchored at this part of the Black River is a mystery.
While records exist, they don't paint a thorough enough picture to determine how this ship ended up in the Black River. There are plenty of rumors, though. One that seems especially promising implies that the land at which the ship is anchored was owned by the boat's owner, but property taxes were neglected, so ownership has since transferred to a realty company.
With paint left to blister and metal left to rust for two long decades, it's no wonder the Coast Guard had to inspect the ship in 2023. Oil booms were added to capture any leakage, but it's a temporary fix for a problem that threatens to persist. Long story short, the vessel is decaying, and if it keeps impacting the environment, its removal may be necessary.
Removing the ship is a complicated matter, though... nobody knows who owns it!
The ship's registration expired in 2008, and since an owner was never found, its current owner is... well, it's confusing. But for now, the environmental impact is being dealt with, so removing her from the Black River isn't necessarily a pressing matter. Of course, that could change with time.
The Black River in Lorain, Ohio has many secrets, but its ghost ship is the most haunting of them all.
The river entranced French and British explorers when they first set foot in the area. Several names have been attributed to the river over the years, though early maps have the waterway documented as the "Reneshoua River." Interestingly, a few names from other nearby rivers, including Riviere en Grys (which we now know as Beaver Creek) and "Canesadooharie" (a phonetic variant of the indigenous word that describes what historians now believe is the Huron River) have been erroneously attributed to the Black River. A confusing history is oddly appropriate for the river hiding Northeast Ohio's most iconic ghost vessel, don't you think?
Today, the ruins of the Upper Canada sit about 30 miles west of Cleveland.
Nature is slowly reclaiming the abandoned ship, and vandals have helped ease it toward its derelict state. Her future isn't sealed, so if you want to see the ship, stop by and take in this odd local landmark while she's still around.
This haunting ghost ship in Lorain is an enduring mystery. How did it get there? Who owns it? What does the future hold for it? These questions aren’t easy to answer, but the mystery is oddly appropriate for the Black River.
Fascinated by ruins near Cleveland? Take a trip out to the Hotel Victory in Put-in-Bay. It was the largest hotel in the nation when it was unveiled, but now it’s nothing more than ruins.
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