Shipwreck Milwaukee Found in Lake Michigan

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHIGAN SHIPWRECK RESEARCH ASSOCIATION.

Explorers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association announced their latest discovery to a live audience at its annual film festival in Holland, Michigan on March 23, 2024. The shipwreck Milwaukee was found forty miles from Holland in 360 feet of water in June 2023 using side-scan sonar. The steamship, which had a varied career that spanned 18 years beginning as a passenger steamer and later being converted to accommodate a wider variety of cargo, sank in 1886 after it was rammed by another boat. On a trip back to Muskegon to take on another load, the Milwaukee was hit by a nearly identical ship, the C. Hickox, on its way from Muskegon on the same route.

The MSRA spend most of the summer of 2023 working to film the wreck and confirm its identity, documenting the remarkably intact wreck using a remote operated vehicle assembled specifically for this project.

“This marks the 19th shipwreck our team has found off the shores of West Michigan” says Valerie van Heest, who with her husband Jack van Heest coordinated the search effort. “News accounts of the accident, as well as the study of water currents, led us to the Milwaukee after only two days searching,” adds Neel Zoss, who spotted the image of the Milwaukee on the side scan sonar. Weeks later, the team laid eyes on the ship, resting on the bottom of Lake Michigan for 137 years. “Visibility was excellent” says Jack van Heest, who piloted the ROV. “We saw the forward mast still standing as the ROV headed down to the bottom.” The ship rests upright on the bottom facing northeast just as it was heading that night. 

Everyone aboard made it to safety on the Hickox, which together with the City of New York attempted to save the Milwaukee by rigging ropes to keep the damaged ship afloat. Sadly, the ship sank almost two hours after the collision.

To learn more, visit michiganshipwrecks.org.

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