Out of the five Great Lakes, Lake Michigan contains the largest number of shipwrecks, thanks to its past as a major navigational artery. [1] Out of the known shipwrecks in the lake, 69 of them are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, within the waters of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana. [1]
| Ship | Ship type | Build date | Sunk date | Flag | Fate | Coordinates | Image | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. D. Patchin | Wooden paddle steamer | 1846 | 1850 | Stranded on Ile Aux Galets on 17 September 1850. Grounding spurred the construction of the Ile Aux Galets Light. Wreck tentatively located in 2014. | 45°40′10″N85°11′13″W / 45.669308°N 85.18688°W | | [2] [3] | |
| Adrian Iselin | Steel canaller | 1914 | 1968 | Sunk as a breakwater in Frankfort, Michigan, in 1968, with Tampico. | 44°37′46″N86°13′37″W / 44.629527°N 86.226891°W | | [4] [5] | |
| Adriatic | Wooden schooner-barge | 1889 | 1934 | Tied up and abandoned at a dock in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1927. Burned to the waterline and sank in 1934. | 44°50′12″N87°23′00″W / 44.836722°N 87.383444°W | | [6] [7] | |
| Algosteel | Steel bulk freighter | 1907 | 1967 | Sunk as a breakwater in Burns Harbor, Indiana, in 1967. | 41°38′58″N87°07′51″W / 41.649339°N 87.130967°W | | [8] | |
| Alice E. Wilds | Wooden steam barge | 1883 | 1892 | On June 12, 1892 while bound from Chicago, Illinois, for Escanaba, Michigan, with a cargo of lumber, Alive E. Wilds encountered a thick fog and was rammed and sunk by the steamer Douglas off Milwaukee, Wisconsin without loss of life. Wreck located in 2015. | 43°08′41″N87°27′34″W / 43.144858°N 87.459551°W | | [9] [10] | |
| Alleghany | Wooden steamship | 1849 | 1855 | Ran aground after losing power in a gale at North Point, near Milwaukee, in October 1855, while headed for that port. | 42°59′10″N87°51′46″W / 42.986°N 87.8628°W | [11] | ||
| Amasa Stone | Steel bulk freighter | 1905 | 1965 | Sunk as a breakwater in Charlevoix, Michigan, with Charles S. Hebard. | 45°19′05″N85°17′32″W / 45.31814°N 85.292155°W | | [12] | |
| Amazon | Wooden package freighter | 1873 | 1879 | Ran aground at Grand Haven, Michigan, on 29 October 1879, while laden with flour and general merchandise. | 43°03′16″N86°15′33″W / 43.054516°N 86.259114°W | | [13] | |
| Ann Arbor No. 5 | Steel ferry | 1910 | after 1970 | Stern section began leaking and sank on the voyage from South Haven, Michigan, for a scrapyard in Holland, Michigan. Wreck discovered in 2005. | 42°22′46″N86°27′25″W / 42.379333°N 86.457°W | | [14] | |
| Arctic | Wooden tugboat | 1881 | 1930 | Dismantled and abandoned at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1930. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. | 44°06′51″N87°37′52″W / 44.11405°N 87.63115°W | | [15] [16] | |
| Atlanta | Wooden steamship | 1891 | 1906 | Burned near Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, while travelling between Milwaukee, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on 18 March 1906. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. | 43°34′15″N87°46′58″W / 43.570883°N 87.7827°W | | [17] [18] | |
| Australasia | Wooden bulk freighter | 1884 | 1896 | Burned near Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, on 17 October 1896, while bound for Milwaukee, laden with coal. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. | 44°55′12″N87°11′08″W / 44.92°N 87.1855°W | | [19] [20] | |
| Bayton | Steel bulk freighter | 1904 | 1966 | Sunk as a breakwater in Burns Harbor, in 1966. | 41°38′55″N87°07′53″W / 41.648641°N 87.131251°W | | [21] | |
| Burlington | Steel canaller | 1897 | 1936 | San aground while entering the harbour at Holland, on 6 December 1936, subsequently breaking in two. | 42°46′18″N86°13′00″W / 42.771686°N 86.216708°W | | [22] | |
| Cayuga | Steel package freighter | 1889 | 1895 | Sank in a collision in fog with the wooden steam barge Joseph L. Hurd on 10 May 1895, near Ile Aux Galets, while laden with flour and miscellaneous cargo. | 45°43′14″N85°11′24″W / 45.72065°N 85.190017°W | | [23] | |
| Charles Hubbard | Steel bulk freighter | 1907 | 1966 | Sunk as a breakwater in Burns Harbor, in 1967. | 41°38′57″N87°07′52″W / 41.649187°N 87.131122°W | | [24] | |
| Charles S. Hebard | Steel bulk freighter | 1906 | 1965 | Sunk as a breakwater in Charlevoix, with Amasa Stone. | 45°19′08″N85°17′26″W / 45.319°N 85.290492°W | | [25] | |
| City of Glasgow | Wooden barge | 1891 | 1917 | Broke loose from the tug John Hunsader while headed to Sturgeon Bay, with limestone on 6 October 1917, and stranded on a beach. | 44°50′19″N87°16′15″W / 44.83865°N 87.270967°W | | [26] | |
| City of Kalamazoo | Wooden barge | 1892 | 1922 | Wrecked in Little Sturgeon Bay on 5 September 1922, while under tow of the tug Satisfaction. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Wreck originally misidentified as that of the steamer Puritan, the correct identity being established in 2022. | 44°50′44″N87°33′00″W / 44.84555°N 87.549883°W | | [27] [28] [29] | |
| Congress | Wooden steam barge | 1867 | 1904 | Burned near South Manitou Island on 5 October 1904, while unloading lumber. | 45°01′29″N86°05′27″W / 45.024833°N 86.090833°W | | [30] | |
| David Dows | Wooden schooner | 1881 | 1889 | Sprang a leak and sank in a storm on 25 November 1889, while under tow of the freighter Aurora, bound for Chicago with a cargo of coal. | 41°45′57″N87°23′35″W / 41.765833°N 87.393°W | | [31] | |
| Eber Ward | Wooden package freighter | 1888 | 1909 | Sank in the Straits of Mackinac on 9 April 1909 after striking floating ice while bound from Milwaukee, for Port Huron, Michigan, with a cargo of corn. | 45°48′44″N84°49′08″W / 45.812133°N 84.818883°W | | [32] | |
| Empire State | Wooden barge | 1862 | 1916 | Abandoned in Sturgeon Bay, in 1916, burned to the waterline in 1931. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. | 44°50′31″N87°23′44″W / 44.8419°N 87.39555°W | | [33] [34] | |
| F. J. King | Wooden schooner | 1867 | 1886 | Sprang a leak and sank in a storm on 15 September 1886, while bound from Escanaba, for Chicago, with a cargo of iron ore. Wreck located in 2025. | 45°04′34″N86°59′35″W / 45.076133°N 86.993133°W | | [35] | |
| Fountain City | Wooden bulk freighter | 1857 | 1896 | Burned while docked in Sturgeon Bay, on 5 May 1896. | 44°50′50″N87°23′27″W / 44.847139°N 87.390778°W | | [36] | |
| Francisco Morazan | Steel ocean freighter | 1922 | 1960 | Ran aground on South Manitou Island on 29 November 1960, due to a blinding snowstorm, while bound from Chicago, for Rotterdam, and Hamburg. | 44°59′48″N86°08′30″W / 44.9966°N 86.1417°W | | [37] [38] | |
| Francis Hinton | Wooden steam barge | 1889 | 1909 | Sprang a leak during a gale while bound from Manistique, Michigan, for Chicago, with a cargo of lumber on 16 November 1909. Ran aground while seeking shelter in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. | 44°06′40″N87°37′53″W / 44.111167°N 87.631267°W | | [39] [40] | |
| Fred McBrier | Wooden steam barge | 1881 | 1890 | Sank in the Straits of Mackinac on 3 October 1890, in a collision with the freighter Progress, while downbound with iron ore from Gladstone, Michigan, towing the schooner-barges A. Stewart and J. B. Lozen. | 45°48′21″N84°55′18″W / 45.8057°N 84.921683°W | | [41] [42] [43] | |
| George W. Morley | Wooden steam barge | 1888 | 1897 | Burned directly offshore from Evanston, Illinois, on 5 December 1897, while bound from Milwaukee, to Chicago, without cargo. | 42°02′38″N87°40′05″W / 42.044°N 87.668167°W | | [44] | |
| H. C. Akeley | Wooden bulk freighter | 1881 | 1883 | Experienced engine failure during a storm on 11 November 1883, while bound from Chicago, for Buffalo, New York, with a cargo of corn and the schooner Arab in tow. Sank two days later, killing six crewmen. Wreck located in 2001. | 42°39′31″N86°31′42″W / 42.65875°N 86.528333°W | | [45] | |
| Henry Cort | Whaleback freighter | 1892 | 1934 | Collided with the breakwall during a storm at Muskegon, Michigan, on 30 November 1934. Sank against the wall the following day. | 43°13′38″N86°20′44″W / 43.227167°N 86.345617°W | | [46] | |
| Hippocampus | Wooden steamship | 1867 | 1868 | Sank in a squall on 8 September 1868, while travelling from St. Joseph, Michigan, for Chicago, laden with peaches. 26 lives lost. | | [47] [48] | ||
| Ironsides | Wooden steamship | 1864 | 1873 | Sister ship of Lac La Belle. Ran into a storm on 14 September 1873, on a routine trip from Milwaukee, for Grand Haven, began leaking, and sank with the loss of roughly 20 lives the following day. | 43°02′54″N86°19′09″W / 43.0483°N 86.3191°W | | [49] | |
| Jarvis Lord | Wooden bulk freighter | 1873 | 1885 | Sank after springing a leak in the Manitou Passage, while carrying iron ore from St. Ignace, Michigan, for Chicago, on 17 or 18 August 1885. Modern speculation attributes the sinking to a possible grounding on a shoal. | 44°57′47″N85°59′23″W / 44.963056°N 85.989722°W | | [50] | |
| Java | Iron package freighter | 1872 | 1878 | Departed Bay City, Michigan, on 17 August 1878, laden with salt bound for Chicago. Foundered of Big Sable Point the following morning, after developing a leak in her stern, presumably due to damage sustained near the propeller shaft. | | [51] | ||
| J. M. Allmendinger | Wooden steam barge | 1883 | 1895 | Ran aground during a blizzard on 26 November 1895, near Mequon, Wisconsin, while bound from Milwaukee, for Sturgeon Bay, with lumber. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. | 43°13′05″N87°53′39″W / 43.218117°N 87.894183°W | | [52] [53] | |
| John V. Moran | Wooden package freighter | 1888 | 1899 | Left Milwaukee, for Muskegon, on 9 February 1899, laden with flour and miscellaneous cargo. Developed a leak after being punctured by ice early the following morning, taken in tow, but eventually cast off. Still afloat by 12 February. Wreck discovered in 2015. | 43°09′48″N86°41′08″W / 43.163367°N 86.685653°W | | [54] | |
| Julia | Iron paddle steamer | 1843 | 1894 | Built to survey the topography of the Great Lakes. Originally named Colonel Abert, then Surveyor. Abandoned in the Sheboygan River in 1888, then scuttled in Sheboygan harbour in November 1894. | 43°44′59″N87°42′07″W / 43.74965°N 87.70195°W | | [55] | |
| Kalamazoo | Wooden steam barge | 1888 | 1892 | Sank in the middle of Lake Michigan due to a collision with the steamer Pilgrim on 25 May 1892, while bound from Holland, to Chicago. | | [56] [57] | ||
| Lac La Belle | Wooden steamship | 1864 | 1872 | Sister ship of Ironsides. Ran into a storm on 13 October 1872, on a routine trip for Grand Haven, began leaking, and sank with the loss of eight lives early the following day. Wreck located in 2022. | 42°36′09″N87°31′36″W / 42.602533°N 87.526717°W | | [58] | |
| Lakeland | Steel package freighter | 1887 | 1924 | Developed a serious leak and sank on 3 December 1924, near Sturgeon Bay, while bound from Chicago, for Detroit, Michigan, loaded with 23 automobiles. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. | 44°47′20″N87°11′19″W / 44.789°N 87.188667°W | | [59] [60] | |
| LV-57 | Wooden lightship | 1891 | after 1928 | Wrecked by a storm sometime after 1928, after use as a clubhouse in Milwaukee. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. | 43°00′06″N87°53′08″W / 43.001533°N 87.8855°W | | [61] [62] | |
| Material Service | Steel barge | 1929 | 1936 | Left Lockport, Illinois, on 28 July 1936, after loading sand bound for Calumet Harbor, Illinois. Sunk by a rough seas near her destination the following day, killing 15 crewmen. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. | 41°44′20″N87°30′14″W / 41.738833°N 87.503833°W | | [63] [64] | |
| Merchant | Iron package freighter | 1862 | 1875 | Ran aground on Racine Reef outside Racine, Wisconsin, on 6 October 1875, subsequently breaking up. | 42°43′48″N87°45′51″W / 42.72995°N 87.764217°W | | [65] | |
| Milwaukee | Wooden steam barge | 1868 | 1886 | Sank in a collision with the steam barge C. Hickox on 9 July 1886, while heading from Chicago, to Muskegon, to load lumber. Wreck located in 2023. | 42°44′05″N86°54′09″W / 42.734833°N 86.9025°W | | [66] | |
| Minneapolis | Wooden bulk freighter | 1873 | 1894 | Sank in the Straits of Mackinac on 4 April 1894, while travelling from Chicago, to Buffalo, with a cargo of corn. | 45°48′31″N84°43′54″W / 45.808517°N 84.731733°W | | [67] | |
| M. J. Bartelme | Steel bulk freighter | 1895 | 1928 | Ran aground on Cana Island on 4 October 1928, while bound from Milwaukee, for Escanaba, without cargo. | 45°05′12″N87°02′49″W / 45.0866°N 87.046833°W | | [68] | |
| Muskegon | Wooden sandsucker | 1872 | 1910 | Burned on 6 October 1910, while docked in Michigan City, Indiana, while loaded with sand. | 41°43′00″N86°56′00″W / 41.716667°N 86.933333°W | | [69] [70] | |
| Muskegon | Iron paddle steamer | 1881 | 1919 | Collided with the breakwater while entering the harbour at Muskegon, during a gale, on a routine voyage from Milwaukee, on 28 October 1919, killing around 30 people. | 43°13′30″N86°20′49″W / 43.224918°N 86.34701°W | | [71] | |
| Nahant | Wooden bulk freighter | 1873 | 1897 | Burned while docked at Escanaba, on 29 November 1897. | 45°44′48″N87°02′42″W / 45.746534°N 87.044892°W | | [72] | |
| Pere Marquette 18 | Steel ferry | 1902 | 1910 | Left Ludington, Michigan, for Milwaukee, on the night of 8 September 1910, laden with 29 rail cars containing coal and other freight. Developed a serious leak in her stern the following morning, sinking a few hours later, killing 29 people. Wreck discovered in 2020. | 43°44′30″N87°18′16″W / 43.7417°N 87.3044°W | | [73] [74] | |
| Pillsbury | Steel bulk freighter | 1901 | 1966 | Sunk as a breakwater in Burns Harbor, in 1966. | 41°38′57″N87°07′53″W / 41.649171°N 87.131461°W | | [75] | |
| Princeton | Steel bulk freighter | 1900 | 1967 | Sunk as a breakwater in Burns Harbor, in 1967. | 41°38′57″N87°07′53″W / 41.649199°N 87.131297°W | | [76] | |
| Robert C. Pringle | Wooden tugboat | 1903 | 1922 | Struck a floating object and sank on 19 June 1922, while headed from Milwaukee, to Sandusky, Ohio, with a freighter in tow. Wreck located in 2008, and listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 2020. | 43°41′30″N87°33′18″W / 43.691667°N 87.555°W | | [77] [78] | |
| Rotarian | Wooden paddle steamer | 1889 | 1931 | Machinery removed in 1927, and converted for use as a restaurant at Clark Street on the Chicago River. Sank after falling into disrepair in 1931; raised and scuttled in Lake Michigan on 28 September, that year. | 41°57′01″N87°26′04″W / 41.950278°N 87.434444°W | | [79] | |
| Salvor | Steel barge | 1896 | 1930 | Originally built as the turret deck ship Turret Chief, later converted to barge. Grounded near Muskegon, on 26 September 1930, after breaking free from a tug while headed to that port from DeTour, Michigan, while carrying stone. | 43°15′37″N86°22′07″W / 43.26025°N 86.36865°W | | [80] | |
| SC-419 | SC-1-class subchaser | 1918 | after 1929 | Subchaser sunk as a breakwater off Zion, Illinois, in the 1930s. SC-419 established as the most likely identity of the wreck, though SC-418 is also a possible candidate. | 42°27′32″N87°47′49″W / 42.458917°N 87.7969°W | | [81] [82] | |
| S. C. Baldwin | Wooden barge | 1871 | 1908 | Capsized near Two Rivers, on 27 August 1908, while southbound from Sturgeon Bay, with a cargo of stone. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. | 44°11′35″N87°27′12″W / 44.193011°N 87.453247°W | | [83] [84] | |
| Sea Bird | Wooden paddle steamer | 1859 | 1868 | Burned offshore of Waukegan, Illinois, on 9 April 1868, while carrying passengers and general freight from Two Rivers, to Chicago. Between 72 and 100 people died. | 42°18′54″N87°49′16″W / 42.314867°N 87.821033°W | | [85] [86] | |
| Senator | Steel bulk freighter | 1896 | 1929 | Sank in a collision with the freighter Marquette16 miles (25.7 km) west of Port Washington, Wisconsin, while bound from Milwaukee, for Detroit, laden with 268 Nash automobiles, killing seven. Wreck located in 2005, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. | 43°20′08″N87°34′11″W / 43.335644°N 87.569846°W | | [87] [88] [89] | |
| St. Albans | Wooden canaller | 1868 | 1881 | Sank after being punctured by ice near Milwaukee, on 30 January 1881, while headed from that port for Ludington, carrying flour and livestock. | 43°04′00″N87°45′33″W / 43.066533°N 87.759267°W | | [90] | |
| Sydney C. McLouth | Wooden package freighter | 1880 | 1912 | Burned to the waterline and sank in Green Bay near Pensaukee, Wisconsin, on 27 June 1912, after unloading cement in Green Bay, Wisconsin. | 44°50′00″N87°48′53″W / 44.833417°N 87.814767°W | | [91] [92] | |
| Tampico | Steel canaller | 1900 | 1968 | Sunk as a breakwater in Frankfort, in 1968, with Adrian Iselin. | 44°37′46″N86°13′33″W / 44.629554°N 86.225964°W | | [93] | |
| Thomas A. Scott | Wooden schooner-barge | 1869 | 1880 | Sank in a collision with the package freighter Avon near Milwaukee, on 29 October 1880, while under tow of the freighter Connemaugh, laden with corn from Chicago. | 43°01′30″N87°52′20″W / 43.024933°N 87.8722°W | [94] | ||
| Uganda | Wooden bulk freighter | 1892 | 1913 | Sank in the Straits of Mackinac on 19 April 1913, after being cut by ice, while bound from Milwaukee, for Buffalo, with a cargo of corn. | 45°50′33″N85°03′00″W / 45.84255°N 85.049967°W | | [95] | |
| Vega | Steel bulk freighter | 1893 | 1905 | Driven ashore on South Fox Island by the Mataafa Storm on 29 November 1905, while bound for Gary, Indiana, with iron ore. Pounded to pieces by the storm. | 45°26′26″N85°51′02″W / 45.440517°N 85.850583°W | | [96] | |
| Vernon | Wooden package freighter | 1886 | 1887 | Departed Frankfort, on 28 October 1887, headed for the eastern shore of Lake Michigan laden with miscellaneous freight. Foundered in a heavy storm near Rawley Point the following day, killing around 50 people, leaving only a single survivor. | 44°12′08″N87°24′44″W / 44.202222°N 87.412222°W | | [97] | |
| Volunteer | Wooden bulk freighter | 1888 | 1914 | Towed out into Lake Michigan near Milwaukee, and scuttled, following the removal of her machinery. | 42°59′04″N87°51′38″W / 42.984578°N 87.860428°W | | [98] | |
| Walter L. Frost | Wooden package freighter | 1883 | 1903 | Stranded on South Manitou Island on 4 November 1903, while bound from Chicago, for Ogdensburg, New York, loaded with corn and general merchandise. | 44°59′46″N86°08′33″W / 44.996033°N 86.142533°W | | [99] [100] | |
| Westmoreland | Wooden steamship | 1853 | 1854 | Sank in a storm near Sleeping Bear Point on 7 December 1854, while laden with a mixed cargo, killing 15 to 17 people. Wreck discovered in 2010. | 44°46′46″N86°10′25″W / 44.779558°N 86.173652°W | [101] [102] | ||
| William A. Reiss | Steel bulk freighter | 1901 | 1934 | Ran aground while trying to enter the harbour at Sheboygan, on 13 October 1934, with a cargo of coal | 43°44′47″N87°41′30″W / 43.74645°N 87.691767°W | | [103] | |
| William Livingstone Jr. | Wooden tugboat | 1874 | 1880 | Sank off Cana Island on 4 October 1880, while bound for Peshtigo, Wisconsin, with two barges, after experiencing engine failure and developing a leak. | | [104] [105] | ||
| William T. Graves | Wooden bulk freighter | 1867 | 1885 | Ran aground on North Manitou Island on 31 October 1885, while bound from Chicago, to Buffalo, with corn and the schooner–barge George W. Adams in tow. | 45°02′57″N86°00′27″W / 45.049167°N 86.0075°W | | [106] |