AH-WR-1709

Hetty Taylor

Schooner · United States · Lost 1880 · Door County & Lake Michigan

A sudden squall capsized Hetty Taylor off Sheboygan in August 1880; all five aboard escaped and rowed ashore.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Hetty Taylor was built in Milwaukee in 1874 as a small two-masted wooden schooner. On August 26, 1880, she was sailing without cargo from Milwaukee toward Escanaba when a sudden squall capsized her off Sheboygan. The master and four crew members escaped in a small boat and rowed safely ashore. Repeated salvage attempts failed, and the upright hull remains a protected dive site in 105 feet of water.

Vessel

Built: 1874
Registry: US registry no. 95356
Builder: Not established
Yard: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 84.1 ft
Beam: 22.6 ft
Tonnage: 84.84 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: August 26, 1880
Cause: Storm
Location: About five miles east of Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Milwaukee, Wisconsin → Escanaba, Michigan
Cargo: No cargo; reportedly stone ballast
Aboard: 5
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 105 ft
Condition: Upright hull; bow and port side well preserved, starboard side and square stern broken; rudder and fallen transom remain.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: State-owned archaeological site protected under Wisconsin law; listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Position

Coordinates: 43.68° N 87.65° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Region: Door County & Lake Michigan

Published Wisconsin Shipwrecks site GPS from Today section: 43°40.893′ N, 87°39.291′ W. Inventory header differs slightly (43°40.890′ N, 87°39.290′ W); survey method not independently verified.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Published site GPS is reported rather than independently survey-verified; builder attribution is omitted because the inventory lists multiple names.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks
Vessel construction, mast count, final loss and subsequent wreck or salvage history; dates and casualty uncertainty retained. Published GPS used only for the documented Hetty Taylor site.