The UNITED EMPIRE, built in 1882, upbound on the St. Mary’s River. MPL / WMHS Great Lakes Marine Collection
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More than 14,000 articles on vessels, wrecks, diving, lighthouses, harbors, marine works, and other marine-related subjects are chronicled in Soundings. Photos and graphics are included.
Soundings: Wisconsin Marine Historical Society Newsletter
Soundings, the quarterly Wisconsin Marine Historical Society newsletter, began its life under the inauspicious generic name of “Newsletter” in October 1959. Six months later, its flag was changed to Soundings.
Its purpose is to promote the interests of the Society — to discover, collect, record, disseminate, and preserve material related to the history of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway with a special emphasis on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, the Upper Mississippi River System, as well as the rivers and lakes within Wisconsin.
Within the pages of Soundings, readers can expect to find a wealth of captivating information like records of shipwrecks that serve as tangible reminders of the region’s maritime past, valuable nautical charts that illustrate the waterways of utmost importance, and intriguing stories of diving discoveries that uncover hidden treasures beneath the waves.
MPL/WMHS Marine Collection
Coal yards along Milwaukee river north of Holton St. (ca. 1930).
Lighthouses, the beacons that have guided sailors through treacherous waters, also find their place in Soundings, along with the tales of notable vessels that plied the Great Lakes’ waters.
One outstanding aspect of Soundings is the opportunity it provides for Wisconsin Marine Historical Society members to publish their own articles. In these pieces, members share their remarkable findings and insights from in-depth research conducted using the organization’s extensive archives.
As a pillar of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, Soundings continues to fulfill its purpose of educating, entertaining, and engaging readers with a passion for the fascinating stories that have shaped the region’s maritime heritage.