Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior
Sandstone islands at the head of the lake
Twenty-two islands stand between the Bayfield peninsula and open Lake Superior, cut by channels that carried brownstone, lumber and ore.
The islands shelter the approaches to Ashland and Bayfield, but the same channels that made trade possible were narrow, shoal and prone to sudden fog. Ice closed the passages early and opened them late, and vessels caught out in a northeaster had few places to run. Many of the losses here are wooden steamers and barges worked hard in the coasting trade, and several lie in water shallow enough to see from the surface.
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Records in These Waters
AvailableA.L. Hopkins
AH-WR-1807Michigan Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
October 1911; waterlogged October 2, crew rescued October 3, still afloat October 17; final sinking date unknown · Steam Bulk Freighter
AvailableAlice Craig
AH-WR-0514Bayfield, Wisconsin
1887 · Schooner
AvailableAntelope
AH-WR-0279Sand Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1897 · Wooden Schooner
AvailableAshland
AH-WR-1844Red Cliff, Wisconsin
Abandoned in the early 1930s; exact date and subsequent relocation date not established. · Steam Tug
AvailableCharlotte
AH-WR-1843Bayfield, Wisconsin
Keller places dragging to the final resting place in 1943; removal from federal vessel listings in 1944 is an administrative abandonment entry, not a verified sinking date. · Tug · 3–6 feet in the quoted archaeological inventory; present depth not established. deep
AvailableCity of Ashland
AH-WR-1835Washburn, Wisconsin
1887 · Sidewheel Steamer
AvailableEmerald
AH-WR-1827Ashland, Wisconsin
Abandoned sometime after apparently last sailing in 1893; precise abandonment and settling dates unknown. · Sidewheel Steamer · 15 ft deep
RegisteredFedora
AH-WR-0019Basswood Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1901 · Bulk Freighter
AvailableFinn McCool
AH-WR-1850Bayfield, Wisconsin
Abandoned in 1964 according to the quoted historical account; exact dockside sinking date is not separately supplied. · Steam Barge · 20 ft deep
AvailableFred and Will
AH-WR-1840Sand Bay, Wisconsin
Date not established · Steam Tug
AvailableH.D. Coffinberry
AH-WR-0275Sand Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1919 · Wooden Bulk Freighter · 20 ft deep
AvailableHazel
AH-WR-1831Ashland, Wisconsin
Listed as abandoned in 1921; precise abandonment and settling dates unknown. · Steam Tug
AvailableJohn A. Paige
AH-WR-1839Cornucopia, Wisconsin
1892 · Steam Tug
AvailableLucerne
AH-WR-0018Long Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1886 · Schooner
AvailableMadeline
AH-WR-1832Ashland, Wisconsin
Abandoned in 1939 or 1940 according to cited accounts; precise final disposition date unknown. Registry omission in 1941 is not a sinking date. · Passenger And Freight Steamer
AvailableManistee
AH-WR-0515Bayfield, Wisconsin
1883 · Packet Steamer
AvailableMarquette
AH-WR-0276Michigan Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1881 · Wooden Bulk Freighter
AvailableMoonlight
AH-WR-0278Outer Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1903 · Wooden Schooner · 20 ft deep
AvailableNoquebay
AH-WR-0240Stockton Island, Wisconsin
1905 · Schooner Barge
AvailableOttawa
AH-WR-0100Red Cliff, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
1909 · Tugboat
AvailablePretoria
AH-WR-0099Outer Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1905 · Schooner-Barge · 55 ft deep
AvailablePrussia
AH-WR-1846Sand Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1885 · Passenger And Freight Steamer
AvailableR.G. Stewart
AH-WR-0253Michigan Island, Wisconsin
1899 · Bulk Freighter
AvailableSevona
AH-WR-0020Sand Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
1905 · Bulk Freighter
AvailableT.H. Camp
AH-WR-0277Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
Late 19th century · Wooden Schooner
AvailableThomas Friant
AH-WR-1940Port Wing, Wisconsin
1924 · Steamer
AvailableTourist
AH-WR-1847Bayfield, Wisconsin
1889 · Steam Tug
