Newspaper Search

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 Schooner Fleetwing 1869-04-09 1 Manitowoc vessel, 249.78 tons
Manitowoc Pilot Schooner Fleetwing 1870-11-10 3 Ashore at Cleveland, injuries unknown
Manitowoc Pilot Schooner Fleetwing 1874-02-12 4 Peter Johnson sold schooner to a Chicago firm for $18,000
Manitowoc Pilot Schooner Fleetwing 1881-06-30 3 Tonnage 349, built at Manitowoc in 1867 by H. Burger
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Schooner Fleetwing 1878-05-02 8 Cleared from Kewaunee with cargo during the week.
Manitowoc Pilot Schooner Fleetwing 1868-11-20 1 Of this place, weathered the gale in the bay
Manitowoc Pilot Schooner Fleetwing 1870-04-28 3 Chartered to carry iron ore
Manitowoc Pilot Schooner Fleetwing 1872-11-28 3 To be lengthened thirty feet by Dry Dock Company
Manitowoc Pilot Fleetwing 1878-11-28 3 Picked up crew of foundered Etna
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Schooner Fleetwing 1878-04-18 8 The large schooner Fleetwing took out a cargo of ties for V. Mashek last week. (From Kewaunee)

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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.

© 2026 - Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society