AH-WR-1777

C.S. Davis

Schooner · Lost Pier strike December 11, 1881; subsequent beaching and total breakup not separately dated · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

C.S. Davis struck Manitowoc’s south pier in 1881, then broke in half after being beached and was abandoned.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

C.S. Davis was built by C. Olson at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1870 as a two-masted wooden schooner. Carrying slabs toward Milwaukee, she entered Manitowoc for shelter on December 11, 1881, and struck the south pier. Her master secured the vessel and sought a tug, but the mate cast off and sailed her onto the beach. She broke in half, was stripped and abandoned, and some cargo was saved. Remains removed from the harbor in 1908 were only tentatively attributed to her.

Vessel

Built: 1870
Registry: US registry no. 5989
Builder: C. Olson
Yard: Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 81.7 ft
Beam: 18.5 ft
Tonnage: 65.12 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Pier strike December 11, 1881; subsequent beaching and total breakup not separately dated
Cause: Grounding
Location: Manitowoc harbor south pier and adjacent beach, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cargo: Slabs
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Broke in half and became a total wreck; stripped and abandoned. Possible attribution of remains removed in 1908 is unconfirmed.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Region: Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Inventory point not used as a verified surviving-wreck location; possible 1908 removal further limits site confidence.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)

The final breakup day, casualties, present wreck position and survival are unknown; the suggested 1908 remains identification is unconfirmed. Whole-hull artwork is interpretive.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks
Full construction, service and final-voyage narrative, dated initial casualty and completed abandonment; dimensions, rig, actual home port, uncertainties in present site and remains. Zero-valued summary counters disregarded.