AH-WR-1698

Lumberman

Schooner · Lost April 1893 · Door County & Lake Michigan

A squall sank the lumber schooner Lumberman off Oak Creek in April 1893; the crew survived in the rigging.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Lumberman was built at Blendons Landing, Michigan, in 1862 for the lumber trade. A squall off Oak Creek in April 1893 threw the three-masted schooner onto her beam ends. She filled, righted and sank, while her crew escaped into the rigging and were rescued by Menominee. Her upright hull was rediscovered in 1983.

Vessel

Built: 1862
Registry: US registry no. 14828
Builder: Allyne Litchfield
Yard: Blendons Landing, Michigan
Material: Wood
Length: 126.5 ft
Beam: 23.5 ft
Tonnage: 159.89 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: April 1893
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Oak Creek, about 17 miles southeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 65 ft
Condition: Upright and mostly intact hull with structural deterioration; bow capstan settling and hull splitting at the turn of the bilge.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1983
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Oak Creek, Wisconsin
Region: Door County & Lake Michigan

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Exact sinking day conflicts within the inventory; no surveyed position is asserted here.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks
Vessel construction, rig and casualty narrative; inventory zero counters excluded; documentary dates distinguished from casualty dates.