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.
Long Ships Passing – a New Tail Shaft
March 7, 2025By Chris Winters In July 2012, workers prepare to lift the KAYE E. BARKER's new tail shaft section into the graving dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The BARKER's 1950s-era contra-guide stern required a total rebuild in order to accommodate a modern dual-fuel powerplant, automated engine room…Read more
ON THIS DAY MAY 18 1894: INGAR OLSEN SAVES ANOTHER LIFE
March 7, 2025By James Heinz In a previous article I recounted how a U.S. Lifesaving Service surfman earned the gold Lifesaving Medal rescuing a man from the top of Milwaukee’s Love Rock in the middle of a raging storm at risk of his own life. Today I tell how he overcame even…Read more
ON THIS DAY JUNE 13, 1943, THE COAST GUARD CUTTER ESCANABA SINKS
March 7, 2025By James Heinz She was born on the Lakes and died on the sea, but not before revolutionizing the rescue of those sunk at sea and participating in an immortal wartime incident. According to WMHS files, the first U.S. Coast Guard cutter named ESCANABA WPG-77 was launched November 10, 1932,…Read more
THE NEWEST SHIP ON THE GREAT LAKES UNLOADS AT JONES ISLAND
March 7, 2025By James Heinz Recently while passing by Jones Island, the site of Milwaukee’s harbor, I saw the newest ship on the Great Lakes unloading salt on the west side of the island. The MARK W. BARKER is the first American ship built on the Great Lakes since 1983. She was…Read more
FIRE HAS CLAIMED ANOTHER GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER
March 7, 2025By James Heinz In prior blog articles I told the story of the Great Lakes bulk carrier ROGER BLOUGH, which caught fire in the shipyard in 1972 while being built, and then caught fire again during winter layup in Sturgeon Bay in 2021. And now fire has claimed another veteran…Read more
MOVING MORE OF WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS
March 7, 2025By James Heinz Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t beer that made Milwaukee famous. It was grain that put Milwaukee on the map. In the 1840s Milwaukee was a bigger city than Chicago. Before the coming of the railroads, everything that moved in the Great Lakes region went by ship. …Read more
MEET MILWAUKEE’S NEW PORT DIRECTOR
March 7, 2025By James Heinz One of the original founders of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society was the first port director for Milwaukee, Harry Brockel. Since that time, it has been our tradition to make the current Port director a member of the WMHS board. The latest director of the Port of…Read more
THE MARITIME MUSEUM THAT HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
March 7, 2025By James Heinz There are museums dedicated to shipwreck artifacts. There are museums full of old ships and boats. There are museums that preserve historic buildings. There are museums dedicated to the fishing industry. There are lighthouse museums. But there is one museum that contains all of these. The Rogers…Read more
Crew of Milwaukee schooner CORA A. rescued
March 6, 2025On March 6, 1916, the crew of the schooner CORA A. was rescued by the British steamer OXONIAN in the Atlantic Ocean. Her story was popular in the newspapers of 1915 and if a movie were made of her adventure a title might be Milwaukee Schooner, Milwaukee Captain, Milwaukee Crew…Read more
REPAIRING AN OLD DIVING HELMET AT DESCO
March 5, 2025By James Heinz When we got done with the helmet, it looked like Darth Vader’s burnt and crumpled helmet in one of the recent Star Wars movies. It was actually a classic Morse diving helmet from the 1900s. As I reported in a previous blog post, I have dived in…Read more
A SHIP BUILT IN WISCONSIN LED THE NORMANDY INVASION
March 5, 2025By James Heinz On June 6th, 80 years ago, (story was posted June 6, 2024) it was the Day of Days. It was The Longest Day. It was the day the Great Crusade began. It was the Greatest Day of the Greatest Generation. It was D-Day. On This Day 80…Read more
The HENRY FORD II is launched
March 1, 2025On this date March 1, 1924, the HENRY FORD II was launched at Lorain, Ohio. HENRY FORD II - launching March 1924 Built by the American Shipbuilding Company for the Ford Motor Company she measured 597 feet in length by 62 feet in beam. She was the first to…Read more
