Banshee

Ship stats

Depth: 27 feet

Coordinates: To be announced

Vessel Type: Wooden two-masted schooner

Length: 70 feet Breadth: 18.4 feet

Gross Tonnage: 59 Cargo: None

Built: 1879 by William LeClair and Company at Bronte, Ontario as Maple Leaf

Owner at Loss: Matthew H. Knapp of Syracuse and Sackets Harbor, New York

Date Lost: September 30 or October 1, 1924

Cause of Loss: Stranded Loss of Life: None

Wreck Site

Site photo model of Northern Light. Photo:Joe Hoyt/NOAA

The wreck consists of the partial remains of a schooner that are broken and low-lying, resting in approximately 30 feet of water. The remains on the site are a 73.5-foot-long and 8.8-foot-wide section of the vessel’s portside.

A bottom section of hull, measuring approximately 20 feet long by 7 feet wide, lies beside the port side. This section consists of frames, bottom planking, and ceiling planking. It remains unclear whether additional buried fragments of the hull are present.

Banshee was first identified by NOAA and the University of Delaware in 2022. The site was investigated by NOAA divers in August 2024 and June 2025.

Historical Background

A diver swims over the broken structure of the Banshee’s port side — NOAA divers swim along the portside of the schooner *Banshee*. Photo: Ben Ioset/NOAA.

The small two-masted schooner Banshee (US 74399) was originally built as the Maple Leaf (C 92436) by William LeClair and Company at Bronte, Ontario, in 1879. The Maple Leaf was of modest dimensions at 70 feet long, 18.4 feet in breadth, and 5.3 feet in depth, measuring only 59 tons gross. Shortly after its launch, the schooner was purchased by Captain William Goldring of Toronto, who operated the vessel alongside his son, Captain Richard Goldring. The Goldrings would operate the Maple Leaf until 1920.

In 1920, Richard Goldring sold the Maple Leaf, having served as its master for 31 years. In late 1923, the Maple Leaf was seized at Oswego while unloading a cargo of ale in violation of Prohibition.

In 1923, the Maple Leaf was purchased for $500 at a Sheriff's auction by Matthew H. Knapp of Syracuse and Sackets Harbor, proprietor of the resort at Storr’s Harbor. In Spring 1924, Knapp refitted the Maple Leaf as a private yacht, renaming the schooner Banshee.

On September 30 or October 1, 1924, Banshee was anchored in White’s Bay, in the southwestern corner of Henderson Harbor, NY, while the crew had gone into Syracuse, NY. During the night, a southwesterly gale swept the lake, and Banshee dragged anchor, drifting to leeward before going aground along the leeward shore, south of Horse Island.