Appomattox Maritime Trails Marker
Gallery
img
Appomattox Maritime Trails Marker at Atwater Beach
img
Appomattox Maritime Trails Marker
 
Details
Attraction
Description
Just 150 yards from here, in 20 feet of water, lies the Appomattox, the largest wooden steamer ever to sail the Great Lakes, possibly the world. At nearly 320 feet long, she marks the limit reached by wooden shipbuilding techniques. Her builder, Captain James Davidson, pushed those limits well after steel ships had become the norm, and 'Davison's Goliaths' competed successfully with their steel counterparts. Powered by a triple expansion steam engine, the Appomattox could carry 3,000 tons of ore herself and could tow a barge with another 5,000 tons. On November 2, 1905, the Appomattox and her barge Santiago were loaded with coal and approaching Milwaukee. A blinding mixture of fog and industrial smoke from the city engulfed the vessels, and they ran aground off present-day Atwater Beach. Tugboats quickly pulled the Santiago free, but wrecking crews worked for 13 days to release the Appomattox. Even after jettisoning her cargo, however, they failed to free her. Storms and heavy seas pounded the ship on the bottom, and finally the crew removed everything of value. Today, large sections of the ship's bilge, keel, and port-side hull remain intact. Seasonally marked by a Wisconsin Historical Society mooring buoy, the Appomattox is often visible from the surface.
Attraction
Location
Body of Water: Lake Michigan
Trail Name: Lower Lake Michigan
Year Built: 2008
Nearest Address: Atwater Beach
Nearest City: Milwaukee
County: Milwaukee
Zip Code: 53211
Latitude: N 43°5.432'
Longitude: W -87°52.463'
Attraction
Features
Open to public?: Yes
Mooring buoy?: Yes
Mooring buoy in place?: No
Snorkelable?: Yes
Dive guide?: Yes
Trails sign?: Yes
National Register?: Yes
 
Map
 
Nearby
Attractions (12)
Appomattox Buoy
Appomattox Maritime Trails Marker
Denis Sullivan
Dredge No. 6 Buoy
Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse
Milwaukee Maritime Trails Marker
Milwaukee Pierhead Light
Milwaukee Public Library Marine Collection
Milwaukee Public Museum
North Point (Milwaukee) Lighthouse
Pier Wisconsin
Prins Willem V Buoy
Shipwrecks (84)
A.B.C.F.M. (American Baptist Council Foreign Mission) (1854)
A.W. Lawrence (1881)
Adell (1860)
Algomah (1861)
Alice E. Wilds (1883)
Alleghany (1849)
Appomattox (1896)
Ashtabula (1854)
Badger (1837)
Barbarian (1855)
View 74 more
Shipwrecks (84)
A.B.C.F.M. (American Baptist Council Foreign Mission) (1854)
A.W. Lawrence (1881)
Adell (1860)
Algomah (1861)
Alice E. Wilds (1883)
Alleghany (1849)
Appomattox (1896)
Ashtabula (1854)
Badger (1837)
Barbarian (1855)
Black Hawk (1861)
Boston (1846)
Buckeye State (1852)
Buena Vista (1847)
C.C. Trowbridge (1838)
Cape Horn (1857)
Contest (1863)
Cumberland (1847)
E.M.B.A. (Employes' Mutual Benefit Association) (1890)
Edward E. Gillen (1872)
Edward E. Gillen (1908)
Elbe (1853)
Emily A. Roelofson (1854)
Evergreen (1864)
Fearless (1893)
Fitz Simons & Connell Dredge #6 (1912)
Freddie (1901)
Free Mason (1854)
George W. Westcott (1863)
Golden (1892)
Grace Grummond (1869)
Grayling (1876)
H. Marsh (1838)
Hiram R. Bond (1888)
Honest John (1849)
Hunter (1855)
Hurrah Boys (1872)
Ida H. Lee (1863)
J. Steinhart (1853)
J.P. Decoudres (1873)
John D. Dewar (1885)
John F. Porter (1840)
John V. Jones (1875)
Josephine (1874)
Kearsarge (1864)
Kenosha (1919)
Knight Templar (1890)
L.W. Perry (1870)
Laurina (1875)
Lavinda (1863)
Leo (1886)
Liberty (1835)
Lightship 57 (1891)
Lily E. (1869)
M.H. Stuart (1921)
M.J. Cummings (1874)
Maine (1852)
May Queen (1853)
Mayflower JR.(1913)
Milwaukee Fireboat #17 (1893)
Milwaukee Fireboat #23 (1896)
Nebraska (1849)
Nile (1843)
Norlond (1890)
Orleans (1846)
Prins Willem V (1948)
Progress (1880)
Reliable (1880)
Rough Ready (1885)
Sailor Boy (1866)
Sebastopol (1855)
Sioux (1883)
Snow Drop (1853)
Solomon Juneau (1837)
Starke (1889)
Storm King (1856)
Sumatra (1874)
Tanner (1863)
Tempest (1854)
Thomas A. Scott (1869)
Toboggan (1886)
Transfer (1872)
Twin Brothers (1848)
Volunteer (1888)
View fewer
© 2025 - Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society