Small Wisconsin Sailing Craft
Over the summers of 2007 and 2008, the Wisconsin Historical Society will undertake a study of Wisconsin’s smaller sailing craft – those less than 85 feet long. These vessels provided service to many small communities around Lake Michigan, but they are frequently forgotten in both historic and contemporary works. Despite their small size, these hardy vessels lasted well into the twentieth century, a testament to their versatility and value. Two of the vessels slated for survey are the Home, which lies in 165 feet of water off Manitowoc, and the Byron, which lies in 135 feet of water off Sheboygan.

The Home’s bow, in 165 feet of water.

 

Wisconsin
With assistance from the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association (WUAA), and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation, Inc. , the Wisconsin Historical Society will survey the wreck of the S.S. Wisconsin off Kenosha, Wisconsin, during the summer of 2007. Sunk in a violent gale on October 29, 1929, the loss of the Wisconsin marked the end of a long and exciting career. Constructed in 1881, the Wisconsin survived a deadly fire, the crushing grip of an ice floe that sank her sister ship, the Michigan, and even served as a Navy Hospital Ship during World War I.

A WHS archaeologist captures video of the Wisconsin’s capstan.

To follow archaeologists' journal entries and see images from the 2003 field season, see Notes from the Field.