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.
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
Long Ships Passing – In the Kingdom of Fire and Noise
February 5, 2026By Chris Winters “In the Kingdom of Fire and Noise...” Tending USCGC MACKINAW WAGB 83’s Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines while breaking ice on Lake Superior, March 2005. ----------- The USCG Cutter MACKINAW (WAGB-83) was the high tech icebreaker when launched by the American Shipbuilding Company in March of 1944. She…Read more
SHIPWRECK FROM THE AIR IDENTIFIED
February 1, 2026By James Heinz I have posted several photos of unidentified shipwrecks on the bottom of Lake Michigan that I photographed from the air. This is a post about another such shipwreck whose identity I have always known. The wooden propeller steamer ATLANTA was launched in 1891 at Cleveland OH. She…Read more
Milwaukeeans rescue crew and passengers of ST. ALBANS
January 30, 2026On this day January 30, 1881, Milwaukee had been experiencing a fierce snow storm but when the alarm was sounded for what was noticed off shore, hundreds came out to help. This was the day the package and passenger steamer ST. ALBANS was cut through by ice and went…Read more
