AH-WR-1974

Island City

Schooner · Lost 1894 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

The schooner Island City sank off Milwaukee in an April gale in 1894; her captain drifted ashore in an oarless yawl, but his two young crewmen were lost.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in 1859, the two-masted schooner Island City cleared Ludington on April 7, 1894, with hardwood for Milwaukee. Fourteen miles out of Milwaukee an easterly gale set in and she began to leak faster than her three men could pump. Near 11 p.m. they prepared to abandon her, but while cutting the yawl loose, Captain William Wood was swept away in it with no oars. His two young crewmen went down with the schooner. Wood washed ashore near Mequon the next afternoon.

Vessel

Built: 1859
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: April 7, 1894
Cause: Storm
Location: About 12 miles northeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (spars believed hers)
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Ludington, Michigan → Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cargo: Hardwood
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 2
Master: Capt. William Wood