One of the first purpose built lake freighters, Jarvis Lord was designed to operate in the iron-ore and coal trade.

On August 17 or 18, 1885, while bound from St. Ignace, Michigan for Chicago, Illinois, Jarvis Lord was travelling in the Manitou Passage when she sprang a leak and began sinking rapidly.

The wreck of Jarvis Lord was discovered in 2020 by Ross Richardson, resting in 220 feet (67 m) of water and partially broken up.

Jarvis Lord (US official number 75499) was built in 1872 in Marine City, Michigan, by the Morley & Hill shipyard.

[4][5] She was originally built for her master carpenter, William B. Morley, and was designed to operate in the iron ore and coal trade.

[2] On June 1, while loaded with 27,800 bushels of wheat, Jarvis Lord became the first ship to arrive in Buffalo, New York from Duluth, Minnesota in 1873.

[2][4][5][9] On September 27, 1881, Jarvis Lord was blown ashore at Ile Parisienne on Lake Superior while loaded with 32,000 bushels of wheat.

[2][5][11] Jarvis Lord received a major overhaul in March 1885; she had new decks, beams, hatches and stringers installed.

[2][4][5] On August 17 or 18, 1885, while under the command of Captain Richard Neville, Jarvis Lord left St. Ignace, Michigan with a load of iron ore destined for Chicago, Illinois.

[1][4][5] About a week and a half after Jarvis Lord sank, a large piece of her deck was reported floating off Frankfort, Michigan.

At the time of her loss, Jarvis Lord was valued at $32,000, and her hull had an Inland Lloyd's insurance rating of A2 ½.

In the twenty-first century, shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson of Lake Ann, Michigan had aspirations of locating Jarvis Lord for a number of years.

Scheduling conflicts prevented him from returning to the site immediately, but in November 2019, he began working with local television station WZZM to plan an exploration of the shipwreck the following year.

On June 24, 2020, Richardson and fellow shipwreck hunters Cal Kothrade and Steve Wimer II from Milwaukee, Wisconsin joined a team from WZZM in Glen Haven, Michigan.

[4][5] The wreck of Jarvis Lord rests in 220 feet (67 m) of water, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Pyramid Point.