Our Blog
Wisconsin Marine Historical Society is a self-supported nonprofit organization committed to collecting, preserving, archiving, and sharing materials that illuminate the rich heritage of the Great Lakes maritime industry. Check out our blog to dive deep into the fascinating narratives and events that have shaped the Great Lakes maritime legacy.
THE USS O’CALLAHAN WAS LAUNCHED
February 20, 2025By James Heinz On February 19, 1964, the destroyer escort USS O’CALLAHAN was launched at the DeFoe shipyard in Bay City, Mich. She was the first warship named after a priest and the first christened by a Catholic nun. The nun had spent World War II in a Japanese prison…Read more
Mother Nature Freezes Carferries
February 19, 2025On February 19, 1936, the steel carferry PERE MARQUETTE 22 got stuck in an ice field about two miles west of Ludington, Mich., along with the CITY OF FLINT 32. PERE MARQUETTE 18 was stuck about nine miles out in Lake Michigan and the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 about…Read more
The EDWIN H. GOTT makes her maiden voyage
February 16, 2025On this day February 16, 1979, the EDWIN H. GOTT left Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay bound for Two Harbors on her maiden voyage. She encountered ice in Lake Superior which damaged her side tank and she lost a rudder. Once arriving at Two Harbors she spent two months being…Read more
Long Ships Passing – De-icing the ballast tank vent caps
February 14, 2025By Chris Winters Deckhand de-icing ballast tank vent caps on the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, downbound on Lake Michigan, January 2025. ---------------- The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON was built in 1952 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. a division of US Steel Corp. She…Read more
Long Ships Passing – De-icing the cargo hatches in January
February 13, 2025By Chris Winters Deckhands de-icing the cargo hatches of the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, downbound on Lake Michigan, January 2025. -------------- The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON was built in 1952 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. a division of US Steel Corp. She measured…Read more
Long Ships Passing – De-icing the cargo hatches
February 12, 2025By Chris Winters Deckhands de-icing the cargo hatches of the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, downbound on Lake Michigan, January 2025. ---------------------- The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON was built in 1952 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. a division of US Steel Corp. She measured…Read more
ONCE THERE WERE MANY, NOW THERE ARE NONE: THE DEVICE THAT REVOLUTIONIZED GREAT LAKES SHIPPING
February 9, 2025By James Heinz There is an old saying in the shipping business: “The ship doesn’t make any money while it is tied to the dock.” The bulk carriers of the Great Lakes could be loaded with iron ore quickly by using the oldest machine mankind has ever used to move…Read more
A GUN THAT SAVES LIVES – FROM THE WMHS COLLECTION
February 7, 2025By James Heinz Most guns are designed to take lives. The WMHS collection contains a gun that saves lives. You can see it at the North Point lighthouse in Milwaukee, Wis., where it is on loan from WMHS. In times past, ships would often strand in the surf close to…Read more
Milwaukee Built schooner STARKE ends career in Louisiana
February 5, 2025On this day February 5, 1906, the Milwaukee built 3 masted schooner STARKE stranded on Chandeleur Island, Louisiana. She was built by Robert Allan and George McClelland of the Milwaukee Shipyard Co. in 1876. Alex Allan was her master builder. She was 124 feet in length and 27 feet in…Read more
On This Day the IOWA was crushed by ice
February 4, 2025On this day February 4, 1915, the Goodrich wooden passenger steamer IOWA was crushed by ice off Chicago sinking about three miles off the river mouth. Huge cakes of ice surged against the sides of the ship causing leaks and punctures. The crew tried to stop the leaks but…Read more
THAT BOAT THAT KEEPS MILWAUKEE’S HARBOR SAFE
February 2, 2025By James Heinz Milwaukee’s famous harbor workboat, the HARBOR SEAGULL, sank in 2021 https://wmhs.org/life-death-and-rebirth-of-milwaukee-ports-harbor-seagull/. Fortunately, Port Milwaukee had another vessel to do the job. The workboat JOEY D. was launched in 2011 at the Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio. She was designed by Jensen Marine Consultants of Seattle, Wash.,…Read more
WHEN COLUMBUS SAILED THE GREAT LAKES
February 1, 2025By James Heinz Actually, it was a replica of his flagship, the SANTA MARIA. And there are actually several replicas. I wrote a previous story about when a replica Viking ship sailed the Great Lakes: https://wmhs.org/when-a-viking-ship-sailed-the-great-lakes/ And just like the Viking ship, the first SANTA MARIA replica was built to…Read more
