The fall of 1929 was as stormy on the Great Lakes as in the stock market. On October 27, the night before the Wall Street crash, the Wisconsin again reached Milwaukee with her cargo shifted and a pronounced list to port. Two nights later, when she was again bound for Milwaukee, she ran into a heavy gale and began taking on water. The pumps could not keep up. Captain Morrison dropped anchor southeast of Kenosha, Wis. He shut down the engines to devote all available steam to the pumps. With the water still rising, the fires in the boilers were extinguished to avoid an explosion. A passenger gangway gave way, allowing water to enter the ship even faster. Radio calls for help soon brought Coast Guard surfboats and fishing tugs alongside. All but nine crew abandoned ship before the Wisconsin slipped beneath the waves. Captain Morrison was pulled alive from the water but died soon afterwards from exposure.

Hard hat divers salvaged cargo from the Wisconsin in 1935. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Library.