By Carl Eisenberg
The steam barge JOYS is now a Historic Shipwreck memorialized on the Wisconsin Maritime Trails.
According to a Sept. 3, 1884, article in the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, the wooden hulled steam barge was named after the Joys family who were part owners along with John Fitzgerald and others. She was launched from the Milwaukee Ship Yard on Sept. 2, 1884.
Andrew M. Joys was the secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Ship Yard Co. which had ties to the Milwaukee company, Laacke & Joys. John Fitzgerald was the president of the Milwaukee Ship Yard Co. and his grandfather, Edmund Fitzgerald, was a founder of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society.
The JOYS, a nineteenth century vessel, was a transitional type with characteristics of a schooner but propelled by steam. Known to be a fast ship, she was 131 feet long with a 28-foot beam and could carry about 300,000 feet of lumber.
On Oct. 17, 1888, she was badly damaged in a collision, and on April 5, 1890, sustained minor damages when she struck a sandbar while leaving Manistee Harbor, Mich. Finally, on Dec. 23, 1898, fire destroyed the JOYS at Sturgeon Bay, Wis. There was no loss of life. After the fire she was determined to be too badly damaged for further use. Her wreckage is about 150 yards off the shore of Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay.
The Joys Historic Marker is in Sunset Park where there are walking paths and a small beach. We saw a great egret and a turtle in the park, situated alongside the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Co. site. Our visit was on a cloudy, rainy day with thunder, pierced by ship horns and whistles. We noticed buildings across the street that had been used as boarding houses for shipyard workers. The M/V ROGER BLOUGH was docked nearby under the shadow of a large gantry crane inside Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.
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The historic marker for the JOYS, a wooden hulled steam barge launched from the Milwaukee Ship Yard Sept. 2, 1884. Photo Credit: Carl Eisenberg
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hulled steam barge was named after the Joys family who were part owners along with
John Fitzgerald and others. She was launched from the Milwaukee Ship Yard on
Sept. 2, 1884. Photo credit: Carl Eisenberg
hulled steam barge was named after the Joys family who were part owners along with
John Fitzgerald and others. She was launched from the Milwaukee Ship Yard on
Sept. 2, 1884. Photo credit: Carl Eisenberg
Sunset Park at Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Photo Credit: Carl Eisenberg
Wis. Photo Credit: Carl Eisenberg
Carl Eisenberg, MD, FAAP, is a retired pediatrician and president of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, headquartered in Milwaukee. He can be reached at ceisen@icloud.com.
