AH-WR-1797

A.W. Lawrence

Tug · Lost 1888 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

A.W. Lawrence was destroyed by a boiler explosion off Milwaukee in 1888; two crew survived and four died.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built at Sturgeon Bay in 1881 by John Gregory, the wooden tug A.W. Lawrence towed lumber for the Sturgeon Bay Lumber Company. In 1883 she received an engine and boiler from Ben Drake. At 2:35 a.m. on October 31, 1888, her boiler exploded off Milwaukee, destroying the vessel; two crew survived and four died. The institutional account alleges a race with Merrill, but survivor Thomas Dooley disputed that interpretation. The precise explosion mechanism remains unestablished.

Vessel

Built: 1881
Registry: Registry no. 105948
Builder: John Gregory
Yard: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 72 ft
Beam: 16 ft
Tonnage: 50.62 gross tons
Propulsion: Steam screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 31, 1888
Cause: Mechanical failure
Location: Off North Point, Milwaukee, Lake Michigan
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Ballast
Aboard: 6
Lives lost: 4
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 43.03° N 87.86° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Region: Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Converted from institutional inventory N 43°01.532′, W 087°51.339′. No survey provenance or error estimate supplied; reported/unconfirmed. Narrative describes the accident about three miles offshore of North Point.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)

Depth, present remains and precise explosion mechanism are not established; the reported position lacks survey provenance.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks — Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society — A.W. Lawrence
Full construction and service history, final boiler explosion, casualty outcomes and disputed racing account; reported inventory coordinates qualified.