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.
Busy Day in the Twin Ports
October 11, 2025Elmer Engman, our Duluth correspondent, reports that on October 1st in the Twin Ports, it still felt like summer. The Netherlands cargo ship, the HUDSONGRACHT, entered the port with a cargo of quartz to be used in countertops. The HUDSONGRACHT was built in 2008 and is 452 feet long. She…Read more
BUTCHER BOY partially burned in Chicago
October 8, 2025On this day October 8, 1871, the barkentine BUTCHER BOY was partially burned in the great Chicago fire. The fire, which spanned October 8th through the 10th, reportedly killed 300 people and destroyed 3.3 square miles of the city. I am sure the most famous cow is not…Read more
The PEWABIC takes her first cargo
October 5, 2025On this day October 5, 1863, the PEWABIC took on her first cargo at Cleveland. She was nearly completed but only able to carry freight. Her owners, Messrs. J. T. Whiting & Co., of Detroit, planned to get in three trips of cargo that fall and then finish her…Read more
Vessel Bristling With Rum
September 30, 2025On this day September 30, 1929, there was great excitement at a Milwaukee dock. The Great Lakes Transit steamer UTICA was greeted by prohibition and Coast Guard forces when she arrived. Prohibition Federal Agents had received a tip from Windsor, Ontario, that the UTICA had sailed from there with…Read more
Stranded due to dense smoke
September 28, 2025On this day September 28, 1908, the wooden steamer NESHOTO stranded in dense smoke 2 ½ miles off Crisp Point in Lake Superior. Yes, dense smoke due to forest fires in the Upper Peninsula and plains west of Crisp Point and Vermilion. Luckily her crew of 16 were rescued…Read more
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
September 27, 2025By James Heinz Recently WMHS member Captain Greg Stamatelakys sent us a photo of the World War II submarine USS COBIA undergoing overhaul in drydock in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The other unusual sight in the photo is the pale green object with two people in it that is floating in…Read more
Milwaukee’s OUR SON founders
September 26, 2025On this day September 26, 1930, Milwaukee’s OUR SON foundered in a gale and sunk about 20 miles off of Sheboygan, Wis. The Lake Carriers Association said she was the last active sailing vessel to ride the upper lakes. A three-masted schooner, the OUR SON was built in…Read more
On this day the Goodrich Steamer SHEBOYGAN was cremated
September 25, 2025On this day September 25, 1914, the steamer SHEBOYGAN, the first boat built for Goodrich, was cremated. The SHEBOYGAN was built by Greenleaf S. Rand at Manitowoc, just southeast of the 8th Street Bridge, in 1869 for the Goodrich Transit Co. The wooden steam paddle measured 208 feet…Read more
A LIGHTHOUSE TOUR ON NATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE DAY
September 23, 2025By James Heinz August 7th is National Lighthouse Day because on August 7, 1789, Congress passed an act providing for federal support for lighthouses, buoys, and other aids to navigation. On Lighthouse Day 2025, I took a boat tour around the Chicago Harbor lighthouse. But first, a brief history of…Read more
A DIVE TO COMMEMORATE THE LAKELAND
September 22, 2025By James Heinz In my previous article about the suspicious sinking of the steamer LAKELAND on December 3, 1924, I mentioned that the Lake Michigan Classic Diving Organization would be conducting a commemoration dive for the LAKELAND using classic hard hat and hose diving gear. And, on August 16, 2025,…Read more
COBIA in drydock
September 21, 2025A great photo from Greg Stamatelakys of the COBIA in Fincantieri's drydock. AND yes, that is an amphicar!Read more
Heavy Seas took the ALEX NIMICK
September 21, 2025On this day September 21, 1907, while heavily laden with coal and about 13 miles west of Whitefish Point, the ALEX NIMICK’s steering gear became disabled during a rough storm with heavy seas. She was unmanageable and forced by the storm toward land striking near Pictured Rocks. Steward Thomas…Read more
