Wisconsin Marine Historical Societyʼs mission statement

The Wisconsin Marine Historical Society is organized solely and exclusively as a non-profit agency and to work jointly with the Milwaukee Public Library for scientific, literary, and educational purposes. This includes recording and preservation of documents, photographs, records, and objects relating to all marine aspects of the history, geology, geography, environment, folklore, commerce, industry and recreational use of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway with a special emphasis on Lakes Michigan and Superior – the Upper Mississippi River System as well as the lakes and rivers within Wisconsin by all types of watercraft.

The Society desires to centralize the foregoing historical material, assure its availability to the public and disseminate information through the Society’s official publication Soundings; and to cooperate with libraries, museums, institutions of learning, societies, associations, and other organizations maintaining marine collections. The Society will aid in the expansion and maintenance of the Marine Collection of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society and the Milwaukee Public Library. It is an affiliate of the Milwaukee Public Library, with which it has an historical association.

– Approved by the WMHS Board of Trustees, January 12, 1994