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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Door County Advocate | Carferry | Ann Arbor No. 4 | 1909-02-04 | 1 | Went on Point au Barques | |
| Door County Advocate | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1915-05-13 | 1 | Purchased after damaged by fire | ||
| Door County Advocate | Carferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1922-08-11 | 7 | Ran into 8th street bridge in Manitowoc | |
| Door County Advocate | Carferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1920-05-07 | 6 | Record round trip between Kewaunee and Frankfort | |
| Door County Advocate | Carferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1921-04-22 | 12 | Iced up clear to the top of her pilot house | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Car ferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1911-06-09 | 1 | Blown on the beach at the north end of the harbor basin at Manitowoc. Tug Arctic went to its rescue. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Car ferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1911-03-03 | 1 | New car ferry No. 5 is meeting all the requirements of the company. This gives the company four steel boats and as the No. 2, a wooden boat, is becoming aged. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Car ferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1911-01-27 | 1 | Information on the new Ann Arbor car ferry. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Car ferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1911-02-24 | 1 | The entire fleet of Ann Arbor carferries, the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5, the latter a new boat, are to be equipped this week with wireless apparatus by the United States Wireless Telegraph company. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Carferry | Ann Arbor No. 5 | 1917-03-16 | 1 | The two largest carferries on Lake Michigan, Ann Arbor No. 5 and 6, are battling in the ice off the harbor of Kewaunee where are held firmly in ice windrows since Monday night. |
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.