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. Search our blog index to find your favorite stories.
High praise for the US Life Saving Service
March 22, 2026Many of our stories revolve around launchings or losses of Great Lakes vessels. This is about a rescue. The touching letter below was written to the Life Saving Service from a ship’s captain after him and his crew, who had given up hope, were rescued by the service. It…Read more
Presidential Yacht becomes a gunboat
March 19, 2026The YANTIC was launched at Philadelphia on March 19, 1864, at the US Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Originally she was to be a presidential yacht for Abraham Lincoln but at the time a gunboat was needed more than a presidential yacht. She measured 180 feet in length and 30 feet…Read more
Thanks to Herman Runge we have all this
March 16, 2026On this day, March 16, 1958, Herman G. Runge sailed on. His name is not familiar to many today but he was a nationally recognized authority on Great Lakes vessels during his time. Herman lived in Milwaukee on South 34th Street and was a confirmed bachelor who was known…Read more
Milwaukee launches the MOONLIGHT
March 14, 2026On this day, March 14, 1874, the Milwaukee built three-masted schooner MOONLIGHT was launched by Wolf & Davidson. Her owners were all well-known Milwaukeeans – David Vance, Gilbert E. Collins, Lemuel Ellsworth, W. E. Hibbard, E. C. Hibbard, Joseph S. Peck and A. W. Wilkinson. Her captain is probably most…Read more
On this day the CHARLES E. WILSON was launched
March 10, 2026On this day March 10, 1973, the CHARLES E. WILSON was launched in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., by the Bay Shipbuilding Corp. for the Franklin Steamship Co. of Buffalo (a subsidiary of Boland & Cornelius, a subsidiary of American Steamship Company). The WILSON would go on to become the fourth…Read more
TALES FROM THE WMHS COLLECTION: THE BELL OF THE CHARLES S. NEFF
March 8, 2026By James Heinz Just a few feet from the desk of WMHS Executive Director Suzette Lopez hangs a bell from a ship called the CHARLES S. NEFF. This is the story of the ship behind the bell. If NEFF sounds familiar, it is because Charles S. Neff was mentioned in…Read more
Dynamite moved the RACINE
March 7, 2026On this day March 7, 1912, the RACINE was stuck in ice off Racine, Wis. The Northern Michigan Transportation Company passenger steamer and the IOWA of the Goodrich line had been stuck since trying to enter the Racine Harbor the night of the 3rd. The steamers were within half…Read more
CHICAGO’S CURRENT FIREBOAT PUTS ON A DISPLAY
March 5, 2026By James Heinz Last year on National Lighthouse Day I took a boat tour around the Chicago lighthouse as a guest of the Friends of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse https://wmhs.org/a-lighthouse-tour-on-national-lighthouse-day/ The Friends arranged for Chicago’s current fireboat, the CHRISTOPHER WHEATLEY, to come out and show us what the boat…Read more
AN AUSTRALIAN CONVICT SHIP AT THE BOTTOM OF LAKE ERIE
March 4, 2026By James Heinz As previous stories on this blog have shown, strange things have ended up at the bottom of the Great Lakes, such as a World War I German U-boat, a Soviet spacecraft, and military drones made by Marilyn Monroe. But this story is about a ship built 185…Read more
GREAT LAKES SHIP BOMBED BY THE MOB
February 20, 2026By James Heinz Chicago in the 1920s was a tough place. The Prohibition bootlegging wars were raging. So were the Chicago Circulation Wars, wherein the two leading newspapers each hired thugs to attack their competitors’ distribution networks, killing 27 people. At the same time the Chicago Taxi Wars were also…Read more
ALGOBERTA visits the Port of Milwaukee
February 13, 2026Our Milwaukee area correspondent, Bruce Nason, captured these photos of the Oil/Chemical Tanker ALGOBERTA leaving Port of Milwaukee Friday (2/13) morning after a one day stop at the Liquid Cargo Pier. ALGOBERTA is flagged at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was built in 2007 and is 470 feet. --------------------------- Bruce Nason is a…Read more
MEMORIAL TO A LONG GONE GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER
February 6, 2026By James Heinz Just west of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, sits a very large ship’s propeller with one of its large blades embedded in the lawn next to the museum parking lot. Another propeller is missing a big chunk of its blade. Assuming that it must therefore…Read more
