Centuries of exploration, travel, commerce, and recreation on the Great Lakes have left an impressive trail of maritime cultural resources along Wisconsin's Great Lakes shorelines and bottomlands.
Native American canoes launched North America’s maritime legacy about 12,000 years ago, making them among the world’s oldest watercraft.
The origins of the birchbark canoe are told in the oral traditions of the Ojibwe people. The spirit . . . — — Map (db m57836) HM
Bayfield’s history has been powerfully shaped by its location. Situated on the shores of a deep, natural harbor, the city is sheltered from Lake Superior’s notorious storms by the outlying Apostle Islands. Lighthouses, shipwrecks, and a historic . . . — — Map (db m57835) HM
Type: Steel, bulk and package freighter
Built: 1890, Frank W. Wheeler, Bay City, Mich.
Sank: September 2, 1905
Length: 372’ Beam: 41’
Cargo: Iron ore
Propulsion: Propeller
Depth of Wreckage: 25’
Lives Lost: 7
Listed on the . . . — — Map (db m46907) HM
In the early days of Washburn, the waterfront was filled with saw mills. The A.A. Bigelow Mill (1887-1902), later to become the Hines Mill, was the largest of three major sawmills in Washburn. It rested on pilings that ran directly out from the . . . — — Map (db m122317) HM
Type: wooden bulk carrier
Built: 1892 as City of Naples,
James Davidson, West Bay City, Mich.
Sank: Oct. 2, 1919
Length: 301' Beam 42.5'
Cargoes: grain, coal, and iron ore
Propulsion: triple-expansion steam engine; propeller . . . — — Map (db m89957) HM
Type: Wooden schooner, two-masted
Built: 1860, Robert Chambers, Harsen's Island, Mich.
Sank: September 23, 1869
Length: 73' Beam 20'
Cargo: Stone
Depth of Wreckage: 110'
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. . . — — Map (db m74312) HM
Behind you, Government Bluff rises 150 feet above the waters of Sturgeon Bay. It was here that Door County’s first industry began in 1834 — a limestone quarry. Originally intended for a military fort that was never constructed, the stone was . . . — — Map (db m74258) HM
Resting 150 yards off shore from here is the wreckage of the steam barge Joys, a vessel once hailed as a “greyhound among lumber carriers” for her record-breaking speed. The Joys was constructed in 1884 in the Milwaukee Ship Yard . . . — — Map (db m43400) HM
Cassville's first ferry, a 40-foot rowboat, crossed the Mississippi River in 1833. In 1836, the ferry carried a 23-year-old New Yorker named Nelson Dewey across the river. Dewey was lured to Cassville by its promise as the potential capital of the . . . — — Map (db m43673) HM
Native American canoes launched America’s maritime legacy about 12,000 years ago, making them among the world’s oldest watercraft.
Ancient dugout canoes are occasionally preserved when environmental conditions are just right. The canoe above . . . — — Map (db m57837) HM
Type: Wooden Schooner, three masted
Built: 1873, George Goble, Oswego, N.Y.
Sank: October 18, 1878
Length: 138’ Beam: 26’
Cargo: Wheat
Depth of Wreckage: 110’
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
About eight miles . . . — — Map (db m56036) HM
Type: Wooden schooner, two-masted
Built: 1833, Augustus Jones, Black River, Ohio
Sank: July 5, 1851
Length: 95’ Beam: 21’
Cargo: Furs, provisions, passengers, grain, lumber
Depth of Wreckage: 210’
About 17 miles northeast of here . . . — — Map (db m77279) HM
Size: 144’ x 35’
Lift: 9.7’
Construction: Concrete walls and steel gates
Built 1852. Rehabilitated 1937. Rebuilt 1978-1979.
Filling Time: About 4 min. Emptying Time: About 4 min.
Since its completion in 1856, the Fox River navigation . . . — — Map (db m77281) HM