By James Heinz

The North Point lighthouse in Milwaukee has a number of artifacts on display on loan from the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. These include navigational instruments, shipwreck artifacts, and memorabilia from the steamer SS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

And now another WMHS artifact is on display there, too.

North Point lighthouse recently opened a new exhibit dedicated to the boats that kept Milwaukee safe, the story of the Milwaukee fireboats, inspired by my series of articles on the fireboats previously posted on the WMHS blog, pages 12 and 13, at   https://wmhs.org

The centerpiece of the exhibit is a model of Fireboat 15, which was one of the first ship models donated to WMHS in years long past.  Fireboat 15 was sold to the Great Lakes Towing Company, which modified it into a tugboat, and it is now still afloat as a museum ship at the Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo OH, where North Point director Dave Remstad recently toured it.

The model of Fireboat 15 was on permanent loan to Port Milwaukee, but Port director Jackie Carter, also profiled on our Facebook page, graciously relinquished it so that it could be viewed by more people.  

The exhibit also contains a fire monitor nozzle from the DELUGE fireboat, and a firefighter’s helmet with a helmet front piece for a fireboat pilot, both on loan from the Milwaukee Fire Museum.

Stop in and see North Point’s newest exhibit and be sure to catch my presentation about the Milwaukee fireboats on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 7 pm at the North Point lighthouse, 2650 N. Wahl Avenue (in Milwaukee County’s Lake Park), Milwaukee, WI 53211.  

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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.

Photos by James Heinz