The wooden tug Josephine Addison was built in Menomine, Michigan in 1919. The vessel was powered by a single cylinder, high pressure, non-condensing steam engine with a 75 horsepower output. A single boiler provided the steam at 140 psi. The Addison could carry a crew of four to seven persons during the years she was active in the commercial fishing business. The vessel was owned by a couple of different owners in the Grand Marais, Michigan area through 1945 when she was moved to Bayfield, Wisconsin for the remainder of her life.
The tug Josephine Addison was abandoned in 1948 by the vessel's owner Halvor Reiten who beached her in front of his boatyard in Bayfield, Wisconsin. The Addison was brought to the boatyard stern first and remained buried in the sand/mud for a half century.
In 1983 the Halvor Reiten Boatyard was cleared away for condominiums and the Josephine Addison, which was half buried, partially off the shoreline, was rescued and stored in an alley way. It was destined to be hauled away by the developer's wrecking crew to the local landfill. The wreck was then moved to the Blue Water Maritime Center in Bayfield. What remains is a 22 foot long piece of the original 50 foot long vessel including a ten foot high cylinder housing and stern section, and a 4 inch diameter propeller shaft along with a 54 inch propeller.