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 | Tug | Grace Williams | 1888-05-10 | 3 | The wrecking tug Grace Williams run in here on Sunday and cleared for the north the same day. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Steam scow | Grace Williams | 1887-04-14 | 3 | Kewaunee. Steam scow Grace Williams in to remove coal from the barge Emerald but couldn't due to the rough weather. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Tug | Grace Williams | 1889-04-11 | 3 | The tug Grace Williams was in port on Monday, bound south with a cargo of lumber from Lily Bay to Milwaukee. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Grace Williams | 1889-11-28 | 3 | Three of crew of wrecking barge drowned near Washington Island. They were ;picking up baled hay in the yawl boat when it capsized. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Schooner | Gracie Filer | 1880-04-22 | 3 | The mate was knocked overboard last Sunday and drowned while the vessel was off Two Rivers Point. | |
| Door County Advocate | Schooner | Gracie M. Filer | 1880-05-06 | 3 | Body of mate not yet found | |
| Door County Advocate | Quarry | Graef & Nebel | 1901-03-16 | 1 | Contracted for only a few hundred cord at this time | |
| Door County Advocate | Quarry | Graef & Nebel | 1902-11-01 | 5 | Busy getting stone out for Leathem & Smith | |
| Door County Advocate | Quarry | Graef & Nebel | 1902-08-16 | 1 | Info on up to date season | |
| Door County Advocate | Quarry | Graef & Nebel | 1902-05-24 | 1 | Bought barge J. S. Williams + used as a crib for a dock |
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.