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.
WMHS honors Founder, longtime Navy reservist and educator
January 20, 2021By Dan Patrinos George Ambrose Parkinson is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s 2021 honored Founder. He was a patriot, a civic leader, an educator. He served as an enlisted apprentice seaman in World War I and as a commander of a destroyer group hunting enemy submarines during World War II,…Read more
Lake Carriers’ Association: 2020 Shipping prospects were high until Covid-19 struck
January 17, 2021By James Heinz Until the coronavirus hit, 2020 looked like it would be another robust year for American Great Lakes shipping. The Lake Carriers’ Association reports that shipping during the US-flag sailing season was strong in 2019, beating the five-year average by nearly 5 percent across all cargo categories, and the…Read more
From Sidewalks to Ships: Froemming Brothers built ships in Milwaukee during World War II
January 10, 2021By James Heinz What started as a company specializing in masonry jobs, including making concrete sidewalks for the city of Milwaukee, became a shipbuilder during World War II. The company was Froemming Brothers, founded in 1919 by Ben Froemming and his brothers Walter and Herbert. Bernard Arthur Froemming started the…Read more
A little bit of Wisconsin moves in the New York Harbor
January 1, 2021By James Heinz New York City is a city of islands. Its first ferries date to when the city was a Dutch colony named New Amsterdam. As early as 1642 ferries connected these New York islands with each other and the mainland. However, the construction of bridges and tunnels and…Read more
How a forester came to write a prayer honoring sailors lost at sea
December 20, 2020By Dan Patrinos Once a year members of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society pay tribute to those who have lost their lives on the Great Lakes. Although a prayer is recited to commemorate the crew and lumberjacks who perished when their schooner, the Rouse Simmons, went down in a storm…Read more
MADONNA is newest Washington Island ferry, named after schooner built in Milwaukee in 1871
December 9, 2020By Richard Purinton A new ferry vessel joined the Washington Island Ferry Line fleet in July of 2020. A contract was signed with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Inc. of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., in May of 2019, and delivery was made July 17, 2020. The MADONNA officially began transportation service Sunday…Read more
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.’s most successful submarine during the Second World War – the USS Rasher
December 2, 2020By James Heinz The highest scoring submarine made in Wisconsin during World War II was the USS Rasher, named after a vermilion rockfish found along the California coast. Of the twenty-eight submarines made by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., the Rasher ranked first with the highest tonnage of ships sunk during…Read more
U.S. Navy to name new Columbia Class submarine after state of Wisconsin
November 21, 2020By James Heinz The U.S. Navy will name a Columbia Class submarine the U.S.S. WISCONSIN with a hull number of SSBN-827. The last Navy vessel to bear the same name (hull number BB 64) served in every major U.S. conflict after it was launched in 1944 until it was decommissioned…Read more
Lighthouse Keeper: The amazing life and times of Georgia Green Stebbins
November 2, 2020By Ken and Barb Wardius Only a few women possessed the title of head lighthouse keeper on the Great Lakes. The vast majority of keepers were men. Occasionally a woman, usually the spouse, would hold a position as an assistant lighthouse keeper. Many times though the federal government did not…Read more
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. built 28 submarines for World War II combat; 3 were lost in action
October 26, 2020Second in a Series By James Heinz Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., known mainly for building steel ferries, ore haulers, and self-propelled fuel barges, constructed twenty-eight submarines during World War II. Previously, Manitowoc had never built one. Founded in 1902, the company was located on the western shore of Lake Michigan at…Read more
Sailbirding: a new way to enjoy, count and photograph birds along Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan breakwater and shoreline
October 19, 2020By Carl Eisenberg Birdwatching from a sailboat was launched in the late summer of 2018 by several Milwaukee area birders and sailors. We called it “sailbirding.” The word wasn’t in the dictionary, and as far as we knew it was a novel and practical way of observing birds. Sailbirding is…Read more
The long journey of a WWI-era oceangoing salvage tug to an honored place at the Door County Maritime Museum
October 12, 2020By Tom Wenstadt The JOHN PURVES tug was built for the U.S. Shipping Board in 1919 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding in Elizabeth, NJ, as the BUTTERFIELD. It was 149 feet long, 28 feet wide, 15 feet deep and measured 436 gross tons. It was powered by an 850 horsepower, triple expansion…Read more
