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.
Spar & Sinbad Honored
August 26, 2025On August 26th we honored two World War II Coast Guard mascots for International Dog Day. The first is Spar. Featured here wearing her dress blues, complete with first class yeoman rating, campaign ribbons which she earned and wings for her plane jump. Spar in this photo is a two-year-old…Read more
STEWART J. CORT Arrives at Fincantieri
August 25, 2025Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the M/V STEWART J. CORT arrived at the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding yard, Friday, August 22nd. The vessel pivoted at the mouth of Sturgeon Bay, then backed the six miles up the Sturgeon Bay channel to the yard. It then backed into the…Read more
Rawley Point from the Air – Wreck Three
August 25, 2025By James Heinz Here is the third in a series of photos taken by me from my Cessna 172 of the shipwrecks of Rawley Point. There are 12 identified and 10 unidentified shipwrecks off Rawley Point. This one appears to be a small sailing vessel. It is pointed towards the…Read more
Rawley Point from the Air – Wreck Two
August 24, 2025By James Heinz Here is the second in a series of photos of shipwrecks and other underwater objects in the vicinity of Rawley Point. There are 12 identified and 10 unidentified shipwrecks in the vicinity of the Point. This one is south of the lighthouse. If anyone knows which one…Read more
Rawley Point from the Air – Wreck One
August 23, 2025By James Heinz As my bio below states, I fly a Cessna 172 airplane. One of my favorite trips is to fly along the shore of Lake Michigan. If the water conditions are right, I can see the remains of shipwrecks in shallow waters along the coast. This year the…Read more
STATE OF MICHIGAN arrives at Fincantieri
August 22, 2025Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the T/S STATE OF MICHIGAN arrived via the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Monday, August 18th, at the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding yard here in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The STATE OF MICHIGAN was built by Tacoma Boat Co. in Tacoma, Wash., in 1986 as…Read more
Wolf & Davidson launch the ALICE B. NORRIS
August 17, 2025On this day August 17, 1872, the three-masted schooner ALICE B. NORRIS was launched in Milwaukee by the Wolf & Davidson Shipyard. Built for John & Andrew M. Joys, Jack Saveland, and Alice B. & Charles W. Norris all of Milwaukee, she measured 189.8 feet in length, 33 feet…Read more
A Busy Day in Milwaukee
August 15, 2025Our Milwaukee area correspondent, Bruce Nason, captured these photos Thursday August 14th, a busy day in Milwaukee. The JOHANNA G, flagged from Madeira, a Portuguese Island off the coast of Morocco, was at the Agricultural Facility. The FEDERAL BALTIC, flagged at the Marshall Island of Majuro was at General Cargo Pier…Read more
Milwaukee Launches the ROUSE SIMMONS
August 15, 2025On this day August 15, 1868, the three masted schooner ROUSE SIMMONS was launched at Milwaukee, Wis., by Allen, McClelland & Co. She was built for Kenosha lumberman Royal B. Towslee and named in honor of the man who helped arrange for her financing. Rouse’s older brother Zalmon G.…Read more
THE CAR FERRY BADGER AT MANITOWOC FROM THE AIR
August 11, 2025By James Heinz As my bio states, I fly a Cessna 172. Recently, while flying my plane over Manitowoc, Wis., I saw the legendary car ferry BADGER as she was arriving at Manitowoc and docking. You can see the mud stirred up by the ship as she maneuvered herself into…Read more
THE SHIPWRECK THAT CARRIED GOLD PLATED AUTOMOBILES OWNED BY THE SHAH OF IRAN
August 6, 2025By James Heinz Imagine yourself 205 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan deep in the absolute darkness of the hold of a sunken freighter. It is utterly silent as you drift through a dark cavern full of silt, rust flaking off the sides, and the ghosts of rusted automobiles…Read more
THE SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 2501 HAS ENDED
August 4, 2025By James Heinz A previous article on this blog told the story of Northwest Airlines flight 2501. It disappeared over Lake Michigan on June 24, 1950, while on a flight from Benton Harbor, Mich., to Milwaukee. https://wmhs.org/search-for-missing-airliner-finds-lost-shipwrecks-after-author-clive-cussler-and-tv-producer-josh-gates-show-interest/ And on June 24, 2025, the search for America’s only missing airliner was…Read more
