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
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1881-10-20 3 Effort to get engine + boiler from burnt wreck
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1882-11-23 3 Libeled
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1882-07-20 3 Boiler + engine sold
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1881-05-26 3 Purchased wreck burned to water line
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1886-03-18 3 H. Collett negotiating for purchase
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1882-11-16 3 Towed 14,000,000 of 21,000,000 ft. of logs contracted
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1882-05-11 3 Burned last fall -boiler+machinery to be raised
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Spear 1880-09-30 3 Burned to water line
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Thompson 1905-05-06 1 To tow for Laurie Stone Co.
Door County Advocate Tug Thos. Thompson 1904-05-14 1 To tow for Pankratz company

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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