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Traveling in a thick fog from New York to New Orleans with a cargo of general merchandise, the Eureka collided with the Benison. The Eureka was equipped with steamer's engines as well as rigged with four masts for the use of sails. The damage from the collision was too great, and soon the Eureka lay upright on the bottom with her mast exposed. The wreck was further disgraced by demolition from the USS Despatch, as she presented a hazzard to navigation. Divers from the Baker Salvage Company first descended on the wreck in August, contracted to recover the cargo that still remained with the wreck. After work was completed, the wreck was abandoned.

Mike Boring was the first diver to view the Eureka since the salvage divers left the wreck in 1888. His dive boat, the Sea Hunter, was on a charter to the site believed to be the Chenango in 1990. He persuaded his charter into checking out a set of numbers he had received from a commercial fishermen. Mike anchored up to the wreck, and on his first dive recovered the brass capstan cover that identified the wreck as the Eureka. His charter was not impressed with the site, and they opted to do their second dive at the Chenango. Mike soon returned with others to begin recovering the many artifacts that abound on the wreck. The Eureka quickly became known for the copious amounts of porcelain doll heads, arms and feet, as well as toy tea sets.

The wreck lies in 115' of water, though the engine and boilers rise 20' off the bottom. The port side of the stern rises 20' off the bottom, though the steel is rusting through in several areas. Forward of this, the wreck breaks down until the large engine and boilers are encountered. The hull of the wreck has flattened outward, the edges rising only 2-3' off the bottom. Although contiguous, the wreck has become heavily sanded in over the years, thus one must dig in the sand to reveal its secrets. The general cargo areas are found just forward of the boilers, where most of the artifacts are recovered. Cabin areas and more cargo as well as the remaining portholes, may be found towards the stern. Far from shore, visibility on the site is consistently around 40'. The temperature, too, is a constant, due to the site's vicinity to deep water. Artifacts recovered include numerous types of medicine, liquor, and perfume bottles, various gauges, deadeyes, portholes, a small bell, copious amounts of various ammunition, a pewter lantern, marble doorknobs, cases of leather boots, a gold pocket watch, and an ornate capstan cover. On a trip in May of 1998, I was lucky enough to come across a complete case of Hennessey & Co. cognac, and successfully recovered 9 intact bottles, along with marble doorknobs and a porcelain dolls head. A lone porthole, glass intact, remains on the port side of the wreck (as of December 1998), even after several attempts to recover it. With some dedicated digging, divers may be handsomely rewarded.