The Henry B. Smith foundered and was lost in Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan during the Great Lakes November Storm of 1913, considered to be the worst storm in the history of Great Lakes shipping. One hundred years later in 2013 the wreck was finally discovered. Captained by James “Dancing Jimmy” Owen, his nickname from his habit of spending time in local dance halls, Captain Owen was a master mariner with 30 years of experience in both steam and sail. He had skippered the Smith since her launch in 1906. In below freezing weather and mounting gale force winds, having been plagued by delays and misfortunes, owners of the boat made it clear to Owen that he better make this last trip on time, or else. Witnesses on shore noted that deckhands were frantically trying to close the Smith’s hatches and so it was that Captain James Owen was piloting the Henry B. Smith into one of the worst storms in memory with unsecured hatches. As huge waves crashed over her deck, deck hands struggled to close hatches. Instead of following course to Soo Locks, the Smith rolled as she tried to head for shelter behind Keweenaw Point. At that point with darkness falling, she was lost from view.
All 25 members died in the sinking resulting in one of the worse tragedies on the Great Lakes.