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 | Steamer | Empire State | 1902-04-04 | 1 | Steamers operated by the Barry Bros. Transportation Company are to be equipped for wireless telegraphy. If tests are successful equipment will immediately be installed on the steamers Empire and Badger State. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Steamer | Empire State | 1901-06-28 | 1 | Story circulated that the steamers Badger State and Empire State and the City of Fremont and F. & P. M. No. 1 will be of the Barry line. | |
| Door County Advocate | Steamer | Empire State | 1929-01-11 | 1 | Unloader being installed - info given | |
| Door County Advocate | Canal freighter | Empire State | 1934-06-01 | 3 | Loaded over 15,000 cases of evaporated milk | |
| Door County Advocate | Empire State | 1940-11-15 | 1 | Trouble with steering - drifted to Washington Is. | ||
| Door County Advocate | Empire State | 1910-10-20 | 1 | Repairs - couple pieces of plank on starboard quarter | ||
| Door County Advocate | Barge | Empire State | 1910-04-28 | 1 | Towed in by Irma Wheeler | |
| Door County Advocate | Barge | Empire State | 1913-12-25 | 1 | Moored for winter - Sturgeon Bay Stone Co. | |
| Door County Advocate | Empire State | 1912-11-21 | 1 | Lying in boneyard | ||
| Door County Advocate | Towbarge | Empire State | 1911-12-28 | 1 | Wintering at S. B. |
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.