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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitowoc Pilot | Propeller | Michigan | 1885-04-02 | 3 | First engineer was in city relating experiences of being frozen in the ice field | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Consort | Michigan | 1895-11-28 | 2 | Went ashore near Evanston on Monday night. | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Steamer | Michigan | 1 | Maritime history. Fast on bar all one winter in the 60+s | ||
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | man-of-war | Michigan | 1877-06-21 | 10 | One of fleet of gov. vessels to visit Lake Michigan ports during the next month. | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Propeller | Michigan | 1885-03-26 | 3 | Crushed by ice and sunk | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Consort | Michigan | 1887-08-18 | 3 | Released from the rocks at Bailey+s Harbor | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Steamer | Michigan | 5 | At anchor off Milwaujkee to recruit men and boys for the United States navy. | ||
| Manitowoc Pilot | Barque | Michigan | 1 | Maritime history. Was one of largest vessels of that time. | ||
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Steamer | Michigan | 1878-08-29 | 8 | When about 60 miles from Chicago the Annie Laura broke her iron rudder. The tug J. H. Hackley towed it into Chicago. Stopped for a short time but didn't assist it. | |
| Door County Advocate | Lighter | Michigan Central | 1926-11-05 | 5 | Mysteriously sank in deep water |
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.