AH-WR-1847

Tourist

Steam Tug · Lost 1889 · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

Built at Bayfield in 1888, this wooden working tug burned along the waterfront after a second waterfront fire in September 1889.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Tourist was built at Bayfield by F.L. Maynard in 1888 as a wooden screw tug. She carried passengers and freight and worked in the fishing trade. Early on September 6, 1889, she caught fire at the foot of Washington Avenue, and the flames were believed extinguished. Fire returned hours later, and the tug was cut loose to drift along the shoreline and burn. With no salvage attempt recorded, the institutional account presumes a total loss.

Vessel

Built: 1888
Registry: US registry no. 145493
Builder: F.L. Maynard
Yard: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 65.9 ft
Beam: 12.4 ft
Tonnage: 22.51 gross tons
Propulsion: Steam, screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: September 6, 1889
Cause: Fire
Location: Bayfield waterfront, initially at the foot of Washington Avenue, then drifting along the shore
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Region: Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

Bayfield waterfront fits existing region. Unverified inventory/map marker does not establish final resting place; printed longitude malformed, with no correction inferred.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Casualties, precise final resting place, actual salvage activity, depth and surviving remains are not established.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks: Tourist (1888)
Complete construction, Service History and Final Voyage: registry 145493; F.L. Maynard, Bayfield 1888; wooden steam-screw tug, 65.9 x 12.4 ft, 22.51 gross tons, no masts; passenger/freight/fish service; September 6, 1889 fire and renewed fire hours later, casting loose, burning and presumed total loss. No casualty narrative, salvage record or modern remains account; malformed printed longitude and unverified map pin not adopted.