Search below for stories about ships, lighthouses, sailors and anything else about life on Lake Michigan. The database contains references to articles from the Ahnapee (Algoma) Record (June 12, 1873 to Jan. 7, 1927), the Door County Advocate (Nov. 8, 1861 to Dec. 22, 1949), and the Manitowoc Pilot (June 14, 1859 to Dec. 28, 1899). The results will direct you to the date and page in these newspapers where the article can be found.
Microfilm copies of the Ahnapee (Algoma) Record are available at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library in Madison, Algoma Public Library in Algoma. Microfilm copies of the Door County Advocate are available at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library in Madison, the Door County Public Library in Sturgeon Bay, and the Brown County Library in Green Bay. Microfilm of the Manitowoc Pilot are available at the Manitowoc County Historical Society, the Manitowoc Public Library, and the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison.
Check with your local library about obtaining the microfilm via interlibrary loan.
| Newspaper | Object | Name | Date | Page | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Schooner | Advance | 1885-09-17 | 3 | Wrecked off Sheboygan. She completely overturned attempting to make the harbor there. All but one of crew drowned. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Schooner | Advance | 1912-03-15 | 3 | One of the vessels mentioned in a big article written by an old steamboat man of forty odd years and given in the Chicago Magazine. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Advance | 1908-12-11 | 1 | Tug Industry towed the stone barges Pewaukee and Advance to Sturgeon Bay. The tug returned with one scow with the last load for here this year. | |
| Door County Advocate | Advance | 1893-10-07 | 5 | Perrett s tow - sent adrift + made it safely | ||
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Schooner | Advance | 1885-09-24 | 3 | Two Rivers. Two of the bodies of the schooner Advance wrecked off Sheboygan, have been found--the captain and one of the deck hands | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Advance | 1908-11-20 | 1 | The barge Pewaukee was brought in by the tug Bennet with a cargo of stone last Monday. The Advance which had been in port for several days was taken in tow back to Sturgeon Bay. | ||
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Advance | 1901-10-25 | 8 | The barges Advance and Alert are loading lumber at the Pankratz dock this week. | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Schooner | Adventure | 1879-09-18 | 3 | Got her center board jammed while wind-bound in the river | |
| Door County Advocate | Schooner | Aeacia | 1908-07-16 | 1 | Ashore on Bull Rock point | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Schooner | Aetna | 1877-11-22 | 3 | In for repairs die to storm driven on Long Tail point at mouth of river at Green Bay |
This database is a cooperative effort of the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association (WUAA), the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. The project is spearheaded by WUAA member Russel Leitz, who helped develop a framework for the database and painstakingly combed through 54 years of the Ahnapee (Algoma) Record, 87 years of the Door County Advocate and 40 years of the Manitowoc Pilot for maritime news. The more than 50,000 references are the fruit of his labor alone.