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.
EDWARD E. GILLEN Capsizes While Undergoing Tests by the Coast Guard
June 10, 2022On June 3, 1981, the Milwaukee based tug EDWARD E. GILLEN capsized and sank 2 ½ miles east of the Hoan Bridge in 70 feet of water while undergoing tests in the tow of the Coast Guard icebreaker WESTWIND. The four man crew of the GILLEN were rescued from Lake…Read more
THE GREAT MILWAUKEE SUBMARINE RACE
May 27, 2022By James Heinz When I was a young man, my friends would often refer to taking their girlfriends to the lakeshore on summer evenings to “watch the submarine races.” I found out that this was a double entendre meaning to spend some intimate moments alone with your girlfriend at the…Read more
Bullhead Point Marker
May 21, 2022By 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…Read more
MILWAUKEE SHIP OWNER WHO DIED ON THE TITANIC TRYING TO CONCEAL A SEX SCANDAL -Chapter 3
May 14, 2022Crosby’s Legacy Lives By James Heinz Crosby’s legacy lives on in the wrecks of the ships he once owned. One of these ships is the CONESTOGA. In September 1918, she was sold to the Canadian Lakeports Navigation Company, whose president was Crosby’s son Frederick Crosby, and she was altered to…Read more
Three Adventurous Milwaukeeans Sailed for Whiskey
May 14, 2022By Suzette Lopez On May 3, 1936, three adventurous men sailed out of Milwaukee to salvage a cargo of anywhere from 220 – 350 barrels of whiskey and wine that went down on the WESTMORELAND in 1854 off the Manitou Islands. The WESTMORELAND was also rumored to have had anywhere…Read more
MILWAUKEE SHIP OWNER WHO DIED ON THE TITANIC TRYING TO CONCEAL A SEX SCANDAL -Chapter 2
May 7, 2022TITANIC the Love Boat By James Heinz There is no better source for what happened to the Crosby family on the TITANIC than the sworn affidavit of Catherine Crosby, as given on May 17, 1912, to the US Senate Titanic Inquiry. “Deponent further says that, on the 10th day of…Read more
MILWAUKEE SHIP OWNER WHO DIED ON THE TITANIC TRYING TO CONCEAL A SEX SCANDAL -Chapter 1
April 23, 2022The Wisconsin Connection By James Heinz In a previous posting I had talked about “TITANIC: The Wisconsin Connection”, the exhibition of TITANIC artifacts displayed at the Oshkosh Museum this past summer. The exhibit displayed one artifact that most likely belonged to a Wisconsin resident: a piece of paper currency printed…Read more
The FRED PABST Was Launched and the Coroner’s Services Were Not Required
April 22, 2022By Suzette Lopez On April 5, 1890, the largest wooden steamer ever built on Lake Michigan slid into the water at Milwaukee’s Wolf & Davidson shipyard. The FRED PABST made quite the splash as reported below by the Milwaukee Journal of that day. ”The steamer FRED PABST was launched this…Read more
BOATS THAT KEPT MILWAUKEE SAFE – Chapter 5
April 9, 2022Gone but still around By James Heinz There are many traces of these historic fireboats left that you can view. The first are the boat hydrants. There are four of them on the south side of Michigan Street between Broadway and Jefferson in downtown Milwaukee, and one of them at…Read more
A Brutal Squall took the Schooner LUMBERMAN
April 6, 2022The three-masted schooner LUMBERMAN was caught in a brutal squall in Lake Michigan on April 6, 1893. She capsized and sank about 17 miles southeast of Milwaukee, off Oak Creek. It is said she was thrown on her beams end, filled with water, righted herself and sunk. Luckily the water…Read more
BOATS THAT KEPT MILWAUKEE SAFE – Chapter 4
April 2, 2022Out with the coal, in with the diesel By James Heinz In 1948, Milwaukee took delivery of its seventh fireboat, the DELUGE. Her design was inspired by the Chicago Fire Department’s fireboat FRED A. BUSSE. She was designed by A. M. Deering, the same Chicago naval architect that designed the…Read more
BOATS THAT KEPT MILWAUKEE SAFE Chapter 3
March 26, 2022What’s its name again? By James Heinz The story of the fireboats is made more difficult by the Milwaukee Fire Department’s habit of changing the names of the boat to engine company numbers and then back again, and then reusing the same names and numbers, and using both a name…Read more
