The W. L. Brown was built originally in 1872 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, by James A. Day as the passenger steamer Neptune with official number 130023. Neptune was sold to Green Bay Iron Company in 1873. The steamer was rebuilt as a freighter in 1880 at the shipyard of Andrew L. Johnson for the National Furnace Company of Green Bay, renamed the W. L. Brown, or William L. Brown, and given the new official number 80767. The rebuild was so extensive that many thought the Brown was an original construction. At the time of its loss, the vessel was owned by the National Iron Company of De Pere. The vessel was equipped with a new boiler the winter before it foundered.
On October 21, 1886, the W. L. Brown sprang a leak while in a storm and foundered close to Green Island off Pestigo, Wisconsin. The vessel was hauling a cargo of pig iron from Escanaba, Michigan, to De Pere, Wisconsin. Both steam and hand pumps could not keep up with the in rushing water, so the Captain and the crew launched the lifeboat. They had just gotten away when the Brown sank with a loud explosion that blew off the superstructure. The tug John Leathem managed to pick up the survivors and deliver them to safety in Menominee. The engine, boiler, machinery, and anchors along with chain were eventually recovered. The engine and boiler were later installed in the boat Fannie C. Hart, which was built in Manitowoc.
"The W. L. Brown lies intact and upright in 80 feet of water; the hull is embedded in the bottom. As noted, boilers, engines, and machinery were salvaged, but the two masts remain intact and upright. The cabin is missing. There is an open hold on the forward deck; a bilge pump is located on the starboard side. Wooden rails and artifacts are noted at the site."