Bullhead Point Marker

May 21, 2022

By Carl Eisenberg

The Bullhead Point Historic Shipwreck Marker is on the western shore of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal at the extreme northwest corner of the City of Sturgeon Bay. It is an easy drive north from Milwaukee to Sturgeon Bay. Bullhead Point itself is a large rock outcropping piled on an older rock crib pier structure and is now the site of Bullhead Point City Park. Featured on the Shipwreck Marker are the EMPIRE STATE, OAK LEAF, and IDA CORNING. Looking at the image at this link you can see the three shipwrecks below the surface (https://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Attraction/Details/15).

Nearby attractions include the Door County Maritime Museum and across the ship canal across from the Marker one can see Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Sunset Park where Bradley (Little) Lake is located.

EMPIRE STATE

The EMPIRE STATE was built in 1862 by Mason and Bidwell in Buffalo, NY, and after 33 years her owner became the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company. She was wooden, had a propeller as opposed to a paddle wheel, and was 212 feet long, 33 feet wide, and her hold was 12 feet deep. She was designed to carry passengers above and cargo below. Her original engine was a single-cylinder steam engine but in the 1867 and 1868 seasons using a two-cylinder steam engine patented by Horatio Perry and John Lay she used 21 percent less fuel, a significant savings.

On June 5, 1870, the EMPIRE STATE sunk the WABASH in a collision off of Lexington, MI, in Lake Huron.

During a heavy fog the EMPIRE STATE ran aground on the east side of Green Bay on June 27, 1900, near Sugar Creek carrying 13 passengers and a cargo of oats. It took three days for four tugs to free her.

The EMPIRE STATE was purchased by the Barry Brothers Transportation Company in 1901. She was overhauled in Manitowoc and began regular service between Milwaukee and Chicago in 1902. She was badly damaged by fire at the Barry Dock in Chicago on Christmas Day in 1906. In the spring of 1908, she was rebuilt at Leatham D. Smith in Sturgeon Bay as a barge to haul stone and in 1911 she was eventually purchased by the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company. Two years later she sank near the wharf near Bullhead Point, was repaired, and finally filled with rock and intentionally scuttled in 1916 to extend the length of the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company’s wharf. The EMPIRE STATE ended up starboard side down so her port side provided an extension of the wharf for ships to use to unload. Later, after being joined in the same area by the hulls of the OAK LEAF and the IDA CORNING where they were used by local people for recreation. In 1931 the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company burned all three vessels to the waterline to avoid litigation by injured swimmers or fishermen. The hulls sank in about 0-10 feet of water and are now visible at low water and are good for divers, snorkelers, and kayakers.

OAK LEAF

The OAK LEAF was built in 1866 by Peck and Kirby in Cleveland, Ohio, She was a three-masted, centerboard schooner 130 feet long and 32 feet wide and designed for bulk cargo. Captain Hugh Morrison initially commanded her with a crew of 6-8. She changed owners frequently. In 1874 a new deck was installed and some years later, her masts were removed, an additional 30 feet of length was added, and she was converted to a barge. In 1906 she was purchased by the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company and was frequently escorted by the steam barge I. N. FOSTER and was sometimes paired with the barge IDA CORNING. Barges were not good in stormy weather and frequently what should have been a short trip was delayed by storms. Barges of this sort occasionally rolled in high seas, capsized, and sunk when their cargo shifted.

On August 27, 1908, the body of deckhand Francis C. Brown was recovered after he apparently fell overboard while sailing toward Michigan from Sturgeon Bay.

The OAK LEAF and the IDA CORNING were reportedly functioning barges in 1920, but by 1928 they were reportedly abandoned at the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company’s Bullhead Point Wharf near the EMPIRE STATE. In 1931 all three vessels were burned to the waterline by the Company.

IDA CORNING

The IDA CORNING was built in 1881 by Thomas Arnold in East Saginaw, Michigan. She was designed as a barge and was 168 feet long and 31 feet wide with two masts. She was built to be towed by an escort with other barges. One of the barges could be left at a port to be unloaded while the escort continued on to another port. Over the years the I. N. FOSTER was frequently the escort for the IDA CORNING. The IDA CORNING had several owners and in 1908 she was sold to the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company.

In November, 1908, while under tow in fog, she struck a shoal area and during rescue operations the IDA CORNING broke parts including her rudder which necessitated significant repairs.

Along with the OAK LEAF, the IDA CORNING was reportedly abandoned at the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company’s Bullhead Point Wharf near the EMIPRE STATE. In 1931 all three vessels were burned to the waterline by the Company.

FINCANTIERI BAY SHIPBUILDING (https://fincantieribayshipbuilding.com)

“Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is a full service shipyard specializing in new construction, repair, conversion and sustainment of commercial vessels. The FBS portfolio includes Articulated Tug Barge units, Barges, Dredges, Ferries, Platform Support Vessels, Wind Farm and Specialty Vessels including Self-Unloading Carriers. FBS is expert at managing critical deadlines in the repair and sustainment of the Great Lakes Winter Fleet.

“Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding’s 63-acre shipyard is equipped with climate-controlled manufacturing facilities, computer-aided manufacturing equipment, a U.S. Navy-Certified Floating Drydock, a large Graving Dock, ample Waterfront space, and lifting capacity to meet the most demanding requirement. The Fincantieri workforce is among the industry’s most experienced shipbuilding teams and the company employs an in-house multi-disciplined Engineering team to ensure cost-effective solutions to shipbuilding challenges. They are led by a management team sharply focused on customer satisfaction. The result is a vessel built to exacting specifications, where quality is apparent in every detail.

“Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is an operating unit of Fincantieri Marine Group, the United States division of global shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, Europe’s largest shipbuilder with 20 shipyards on five different continents, employing nearly 20,000 shipbuilding professionals, and with a history dating back 200 years in building more than 7,000 ships.”

BRADLEY LAKE (LITTLE LAKE)

There is a small lake within Sunset Park, known as Bradley or Little Lake.

“In 1852, Little Lake was called Crystal Lake or Silver Lake. It was a beautiful lake extending south from its present location to what is now the main entrance to Bay Shipbuilding at 3rd Avenue and Georgia Street. As waste from two nearby sawmills was dumped into the lake, the lake became much smaller, and its name was changed to Bradley Lake or Slab Lake. Most people know it as Little Lake or the ‘duck pond’.” (https://sturgeonbayrotaryclub.org/little-lake-restoration-project/)

Since the most recent project began in 2016, the Rotary Club in Sturgeon Bay has been involved in restoring Bradley Lake also known as Little Lake. (https://doorcountypulse.com/another-go-at-the-bradley-lake-restoration-project/)

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Carl Eisenberg is a sailor and birdwatcher, and has been president of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society since 2016. A retired pediatrician, he is a graduate of Duke University School of Medicine. He lives in Mequon, Wis.

Photo at top of page: Bullhead Point Historic Shipwrecks Marker with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in the background. Photo by Carl Eisenberg.

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