- Date
- 1909-06
- Kind
- Accident
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- accidentmaritimeemergency-managementfamilycommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
The July 2009 Beaver Beacon reprinted a July 1909 report about two Beaver Island boys, aged nine and ten, who drifted overnight on Lake Michigan after their raft—made from two railroad ties—entered deep water. The tug Elliott found them about ten miles out the next morning; they were weak from hunger, exposure, and fright.
Evidence limits
This record preserves the newspaper’s historical report. The reprint does not identify the boys by name, give a modern independent account, or establish precise launch and rescue coordinates.
Sources
See the sources block above.
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, July 2009, "Afloat on Raft — Two Beaver Island Boys Adrift on Lake Michigan All Night on Two Railroad Ties."Reprints the Charlevoix Sentinel's July 1, 1909 report that two nine- and ten-year-old boys drifted overnight after a railroad-tie raft moved into deep water; the tug Elliott found them about ten miles out the next morning. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2009-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held July issue scan confirms the historical rescue report.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2009-07_Beaver-Beacon
Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Two Beaver Island boys are rescued after drifting overnight on a railroad-tie raft, 1909”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-boys-adrift-on-raft-1909/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, July 2009, "Afloat on Raft — Two Beaver Island Boys Adrift on Lake Michigan All Night on Two Railroad Ties." (and 1 further source listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Two Beaver Island boys are rescued after drifting overnight on a railroad-tie raft, 1909”RIS for “Two Beaver Island boys are rescued after drifting overnight on a railroad-tie raft, 1909”