Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek in Door County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Shipwrecked!

Photographed by Sean Flynn

1. Shipwrecked! Marker

Inscription.

Navigating the Door Peninsula is challenging! Hidden shoals, tiny islands, strong winds, dense fog, and perilous currents contributed to scores of shipwrecks and stranded ships, especially in the mid to late 1800s. Can you spot the nearby hazards?

Map locations
Chambers Island Lighthouse (1868)
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse (1868)
Hanover shipwreck (1867)
Erie L Hackley shipwreck (1903)
Pottawatomie Lighthouse (1858)
Australasia shipwreck (1896)

Caption
The Australasia caught fire and went down near present-day Whitefish Dunes State Park.

Spotter's Guide
While you are unlikely to discover a shipwreck, you can find pieces of history that are 150 to 200 years old.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
Lighthouses are strategically placed to warn sailors of dangerous passages. Peninsula's Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, built in 1868, is listed in the Register of Historic Places.

Great Lakes Schooners
As lake levels change, shipwrecks—many of them hard-working schooners—sometimes become exposed. The Hanover rests about one mile offshore in 20 feet of water.

Flotsam & Jetsam
The chances of finding a piece of a wrecked ship are

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slim. The chances of finding pieces of cargo worn smooth by the sand and waves are a little better.

Leave What You Find
When you comb the beach for clues from the past, you may find things that you would like to keep. Remember that laws protect resources on state properties. Leave the treasures for others to enjoy.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Parks & Recreational Areas • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.

Location. 45° 9.767′ N, 87° 11.88′ W. Marker is in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, in Door County. It is in Peninsula State Park. It can be reached from Shore Road 1.3 miles north of Water Street South (Wisconsin Route 42), on the right when traveling north. This marker is one of two atop the Eagle Tower, 253 feet above and inside Peninsula State Park, overlooking nearby Eagle Harbor, Green Bay and, on clear days, Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fish Creek WI 54212, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this

Shipwrecked! Marker view from the top of Eagle Tower image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, November 11, 2023

2. Shipwrecked! Marker view from the top of Eagle Tower

marker is on Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: What a View! (a few steps from this marker); Looking Back (a few steps from this marker); Shaped by Water (a few steps from this marker); Life on the Ledge (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to Sentinel Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Chris Holicek (within shouting distance of this marker); A Tough Tree (within shouting distance of this marker); A State Park System is Formed (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fish Creek.

More about this marker. Eagle Tower was completed in 2021, replacing a 1932 tower that had stood on the same exact spot for some 75 years. That tower, which replaced another 1914 lookout on the

Peninsula State Park and Green Bay image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, November 11, 2023

3. Peninsula State Park and Green Bay

In this west-northwesterly look from the to top of Eagle Tower, Horseshoe Island is center left; Welcker's Point (part of Peninsula State Park) is to its left; behind that on the far left is Chambers Island, about 7 miles away; and in the far distance can be seen the shores of Upper Michigan, about 15 miles away.

same spot, was closed in 2015 due to structural concerns and dismantled the following year when repairs were determined to be too difficult and too expensive. The new tower, which opened in the summer of 2021, includes stairs to the top (as in previous versions) as well as an 850-foot ramp to the top.

Also see . . .
1. Iconic Eagle Tower at Peninsula Park a Must See. 2021 news release about the opening of Eagle Tower, from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Excerpt: "Made entirely of wood and featuring new wood technology, including glulam structural elements, the Eagle Tower is the only known fully accessible wood observation tower of its height in the country."

(Submitted on November 12, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Eagle Tower History. From the Friends of Peninsula State Park (Submitted on November 12, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Original lookout tower image. Click for full size.

Wisconsin Historical Society, circa 1920

4. Original lookout tower

The current Eagle Tower is the third lookout to sit on this site. This undated photo appears to be a shot of the original lookout tower, which stood on the same site between 1914 and 1932.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 21, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 193 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 12, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.