Lake Ontario, one of the many beautiful wonders we have the pleasure of sharing with our northern neighbor Canada. The only one of the Great Lakes that you'll find out this far east in the United States, it's hard not to often wonder what lies inside this large body of water as you gaze off into it. If you've ever felt curious about this famous lake of ours, then what was discovered at the bottom will completely fascinate you.

Described in detail by Jim Kennard on ShipwreckWorld, the remains of the Bay State steamship wouldn't be discovered until over 150 years after it sank.

From what we know from history, it was in the fall of 1862 when the Bay State steamship would leave Oswego. What was used to carry cargo for other states in America, the steamship would head out from Oswego in the beginning of November. Rather quickly, the ship would run into bad enough weather that the captain would decide to attempt to turn the ship back around and head towards town.

Sadly, the ship would never make it all the way back to Oswego. Now known as the oldest propeller driven steamship to ever be found in Lake Ontario, the shipwreck had zero survivors. There were no records kept for crew members so the exact number of people who perished in this wreck has never quite been determined. Of the many that were lost out in the lake, at least five of them were residents of Oswego.

Found off the southern shore of Lake Ontario, the story behind its discovery is interesting.

Shipwreck explorers Jim Kennard and Roger Pawlowski are responsible for discovering this unusual piece of New York's history. Kennard is known for creating a database of over 600 ships that have been sunken in the past 350 years in Lake Ontario. Scanning the lake floors with sonar systems, it wouldn't be until last summer that this incredible shipwreck would be discovered.

The Bay State steamship was built in 1852 and was said to be roughly 137-feet in length. After images of the shipwreck were seen by the two divers on their sonar system, the surrounding area of the ship was looked at. From all the information gathered it showed that the Bay State ship fell apart over a quarter of a mile in Lake Ontario. The wreckage was never previously discovered because it was so deep down in the lake that it was beyond the safe limits for recreational Scuba divers.

A Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) would be used to capture footage of the Bay State shipwreck. The ROV would discover quite a few obstacles while exploring the wreckage, eventually getting itself caught on a piece of wood. After tirelessly attempting to unravel the ROV from the debris the battery on the vehicle would die, letting almost an entire month go by before being recovered from the bottom of the lake. With everything that there is to know about this wreckage, it seems undoubtedly likely that this is any other ship but the Bay State steamship that was lost near Fair Haven, New York.

Provided by Jim Kennard on YouTube, you can see the actual footage captured by the ROV right here:

Did you ever stop to wonder what lies in the bottom of our large bodies of water? Interested in reading about something that's been abandoned aboveground? Then read about This Hidden, Abandoned Castle In New York That Has A Mysterious Past!