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 BOAT THAT KEEPS MILWAUKEE SAFE
February 5, 2023By James Heinz In April of 2022 the WMHS blog posted my five part series on the history of the fireboats of Milwaukee entitled, “The Boats That Kept Milwaukee Safe.” I now conclude the saga of the Milwaukee fireboats by describing the boat that currently keeps Milwaukee safe. The book Milwaukee…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Hauling in a Heaving Line
February 2, 2023By Chris Winters A deckhand hauls in a heaving line at the Pittsburgh & Conneaut dock, Conneaut, Ohio, onboard the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, January, 2015. ———————————- The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON was built in 1952 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. a division…Read more
Long Ships Passing – ROGER BLOUGH Deckhand
January 9, 2023By Chris Winters A deckhand returns to fresh air and sunlight after mucking out a ballast tank aboard the M/V ROGER BLOUGH, downbound on Lake Huron, October 2013. ————————— The ROGER BLOUGH was built in 1971 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the US Steel Corp.…Read more
The ARCTICUS’ Galley Is Home to the Only Arctic Grayling on the Great Lakes
January 1, 2023By James Heinz This is the story of a research vessel, named for a Great Lakes fish that no longer inhabits the Great Lakes basin, which does fishery research for an organization that studies rocks, and all of this because of the spotted owl. As you may have guessed, something…Read more
THE CHRISTMAS TREE SHIP LIVES ON IN MANY PLACES
January 1, 2023By James Heinz On November 23, 1912, what has become known as the Christmas Tree Ship foundered in Lake Michigan with all 16 people on board near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. She went on to become a true legend of the lakes. She was a three-masted wooden schooner built in 1868…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Gumby on board
December 30, 2022By Chris Winters The galley crew of the steamer EDWARD L. RYERSON don neoprene “Gumby” survival suits during a weekly lifeboat drill, upbound on Lake Superior, November 2006. Survival suits became required lifesaving equipment aboard lake freighters after the loss of the EDMUND FITZGERALD in November 1975. ———————————- The EDWARD…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Her Last Steam
December 14, 2022By Chris Winters An engineer stands the final throttle watch aboard the Manitowoc-built self-unloader JOHN G. MUNSON on approach to the Sturgeon Bay traffic buoy. The MUNSON (1952) tied up at Fincanteri Bay Shipbuilding later that evening to begin conversion from her original steam turbine to a new 8,000 H.P. Caterpillar | MaK Tier-2…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Midnight Delivery
December 8, 2022By Chris Winters The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON receives a midnight delivery from the supply boat OJIBWAY below the Soo Locks, downbound with 25,000 tons of taconite pellets for Conneaut, Ohio, January 2015. ———————————- The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON was built in 1952 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co.…Read more
The DANIEL LYONS Historic Shipwreck Marker
December 1, 2022By Carl Eisenberg It is about two hours from Milwaukee to Algoma, Wisconsin, a port city on Lake Michigan to visit the Wisconsin Maritime Trails Historic Shipwreck Marker for the Schooner DANIEL LYONS. This is close enough to be an interesting day trip for those who would like to explore…Read more
Long Ships Passing – GL Maritime Academy Cadet
November 25, 2022By Chris Winters A Great Lakes Maritime Academy cadet accumulates sea time “in the window” of the Interlake Steamship’s 1000-foot M/V James R. Barker, upbound on Lake Superior, July 2018. ————————— The JAMES R. BARKER was built in 1976 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for Pickands Mather…Read more
The Christmas Tree Ship Went Missing and Was Found
November 23, 2022By Suzette Lopez and Cal Kothrade On November 23, 1912, the old schooner that has become known as the Christmas Tree Ship foundered in Lake Michigan with all on board near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. She was a three-masted schooner built in 1868 at Milwaukee for Kenosha lumberman R. B. Towslee…Read more
Lake Michigan Claimed the CARL D. BRADLEY
November 18, 2022By Suzette Lopez On this day November 18, 1958, Lake Michigan claimed the steamer CARL D. BRADLEY as well as 33 of her crew of 35. Rogers City, Michigan, was especially devastated. It was home to 23 of the lost crew. The newspapers showed grieving families, churches full of caskets,…Read more
