Newspaper Search

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
Door County Advocate Steamer Consumers Power 1937-04-30 6 In with coal for Smith and Van Camp
Door County Advocate Consumers Power 1940-11-15 2 Discharged coal at Sawyer - has 29 hatches
Door County Advocate Scow Contest 1895-09-07 5 Saw body off Sheboygan
Door County Advocate Schooner Contest 1880-10-21 3 On a reef near Mud Bay
Door County Advocate Schooner Contest 1867-04-25 1 Sailor lost overboard
Door County Advocate Scow Contest 1871-03-30 3 Cleared for Kenosha with load of cord wood
Door County Advocate Schooner Contest 1876-05-18 3 @ Bailey s Harbor
Door County Advocate Schooner Contest 1877-01-04 3 Expected in - last report in Kenosha Harbor
Door County Advocate Schooner Contest 1879-05-22 3 Caught in revolving cyclone
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Schooner Contest 1881-06-16 3 To be ready for sea in about two weeks. Captain noticed that boards impregnated with lime did not rot and those in lye stood the best.

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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.

© 2025 - Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society