Smokestack from Phoenix Shipwreck Found in Lake Michigan

More than 175 years after the sinking of the SS Phoenix, one of the deadliest shipwrecks on Lake Michigan, the ship’s smokestack was found at the bottom of the lake just off the coast of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Dutch podcaster Joske Meerdink and filmmaker Diny van Hoften visited the Sheboygan area in July 2022 to research and tell the story of the Phoenix, which sank on November 21, 1847 while carrying over 225 passengers, including 175 Dutch immigrants who planned on settling in the area. The ship burned and sank after a fire broke out onboard, and fewer than 45 passengers survived.

Meerdink and local shipwreck diving expert Steve Radovan enlisted the help of Tamara Thomsen, archaeologist at Wisconsin Historical Society and diving team member, who found the smokestack.

Meerdink’s podcast and Van Hoften’s documentary, both called “De Ramp met de Phoenix,” which translates to “The Phoenix Disaster,” are available at gld.nl/phoenix.