Two wrecked canal boats from mid-1800s found in Lake Ontario

OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The wrecks of two 19th-century canal boats have been found on the bottom of Lake Ontario, an unusual discovery because such vessels typically weren't used on open water, a team of New York shipwreck hunters said Wednesday.

The three-member team from the Rochester area said they discovered the boats using side-scan sonar last year while searching for shipwrecks on Lake Ontario's eastern end. The sunken canal boats -- one 65 feet long and the other 78 feet long -- were found within a few miles of each other about midway between Oswego and Sackets Harbor, said Jim Kennard of Fairport.