SS Milwaukee
Railroad Car Ferry · United States · Lost 1929 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan
A railroad car ferry lost with all 52 aboard in an October 1929 Lake Michigan storm, her rail cars still in her hold.
David Arnold Schultz
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Milwaukee was a steel car ferry shuttling loaded rail cars across Lake Michigan when a severe autumn storm overwhelmed her in October 1929. All 52 people aboard were lost; a note from a crewman washed ashore days later describing her final hours. Not located until 1972, she now lies intact with her cargo of rail cars still in place, a demanding technical dive off Wisconsin's shore.
Vessel
- 1903
- US Official No. 93363
- American Shipbuilding Company
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Steel
- 338 ft
- 56 ft
- 2933
- Steam, twin screw
- Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
Loss
- October 22, 1929
- Storm
- Between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Grand Haven, Michigan, Lake Michigan
- Lake Michigan
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin → Grand Haven, Michigan
- 27 loaded railroad cars
- 52
- 52
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 90-125
- Upright and intact, with loaded railcars still aboard
- Upright
- 1972
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Position
- 43.136° N 87.832° W
- Surveyed position
- Fox Point, Wisconsin
Coordinates published in Wisconsin Historical Society National Register documentation.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Wisconsin Historical Society, National or State Registers Record
Vessel history, register listing, and wreck location.
Historical Marker Database, Carferry SS Milwaukee
Loss narrative, casualty count, and depth.
