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 | Steambarge | Mary Mills | 1891-01-01 | 3 | The steambarge Mary Mills has gone into winter quarters in this harbor. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Mary Mills | 1890-05-22 | 3 | The barge Mary Mills stopped here on Monday evening for a short time while on her way north for a load. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Mary Mills | 1890-05-01 | 3 | Called at this port for a short time on Tuesday morning, while on her way to Sturgeon Bay, with freight for parties in that city. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Mary Mills | 1890-03-27 | 3 | With favorable weather, the barge will be ready for sea by Sunday and will take her first cargo of ties for Sam'l Perry, to Chicago. | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Steambarge | Mary Mills | 1885-12-17 | 3 | Was placed in the dry dock on Saturday to allow her wheel and shaft to be removed. | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Steambarge | Mary Mills | 1887-05-26 | 3 | Dismantled hull purchased by Sheboygan parties. Machinery of G. P. Heath to be put in it | |
| Manitowoc Pilot | Mary Mills | 1894-03-22 | 3 | Is receiving a new boiler. | ||
| Manitowoc Pilot | Steamer | Mary Mills | 1894-05-24 | 3 | Wind bound here | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Steambarge | Mary Mills | 1890-12-25 | 3 | In port. She was light from Chicago. Intention of her master to take a cargo of wood from Clay Banks to Milwaukee. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Barge | Mary Mills | 1890-05-29 | 3 | Stopped at this port Tuesday night bound south with a cargo of hemlock ties from Arthur Bay to Chicago, for W. H. Horn & Co. |
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.