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 Vernon 1887-11-10 3 Only survivor, Axel Stone, persists in his statements of overloading + drinking on boat
Manitowoc Pilot Vernon 1887-11-24 3 Man named Hall, brother of chief engineer in city for information on a body
Manitowoc Pilot Vernon 1887-12-08 3 Life preserver checked and pronounced fully up to the standard
Manitowoc Pilot Vernon 1891-11-12 3 Sch. Page in port. Capt. was severely criticised for not looking for survivors of disaster.
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Steamer Vernon 1887-08-18 3 The steamer Vernon has taken the place of the burned steambarge Champlain.
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Vernon 1887-11-10 3 Axel Stone, sole survivor of the Vernon, will be paid $25 per week by the museum in Chicago, to submit himself to the gaze of the curious.
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Propeller Vernon 1887-11-10 1 Lake gives up Vernon dead. Tug Albatross brought in nine, the Commodore Nutt five and the Edict five.
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Propeller Vernon 1887-11-10 1 Information on the wreck of the Vernon. Steamship Superior brought in the first news of wreck.
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Propeller Vernon 1887-11-10 3 Victims of Vernon accident brought in by tugs Albatross, Commodore Nutt and Edith. Information on what's being done.
Ahnapee (Algoma) Record Steamer Vernon 1909-01-01 1 Wreckage of the steamer Vernon has been discovered by La Fond Brothers. Located off Two Rivers.

Page 5878 of 6219

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.

© 2025 - Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society