AH-WR-0762

SS Wisconsin

Package Freighter · United States · Lost 1929 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

A pioneering iron-hulled steamer, sailing under her original name once more, lost in an October 1929 gale off Kenosha.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Launched in 1881 as one of the first iron-hulled vessels on the Great Lakes, the ship served under several names before her original name, Wisconsin, was restored. On October 29, 1929, the night before the Wall Street crash, she foundered off Kenosha in a violent gale, killing 18 of her 76 aboard. Her intact iron hull is now a well-known advanced dive site in southern Lake Michigan.

Vessel

Built: 1881
Registry: US Official No. 80861
Builder: Detroit Dry Dock Company
Yard: Wyandotte, Michigan
Material: Iron
Length: 204 ft
Beam: 41 ft
Tonnage: 1921
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Goodrich Transportation Company (at loss)

Loss

Date: October 29, 1929
Cause: Storm
Location: About 6 miles southeast of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Lake Michigan
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Chicago, Illinois → Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cargo: Machine tools and passengers
Aboard: 76
Lives lost: 18
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 100-130
Condition: Upright and mostly intact lower hull, deck rising about 30 feet off the bottom
Orientation: Upright
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places