AH-WR-1803

Trinidad

Canal Schooner · Lost 1881 · Door County & Lake Michigan

Trinidad foundered off Algoma in 1881 after its pumps were overwhelmed; the crew escaped in the yawl.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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 at Grand Island, New York, in 1867 by William Keefe, Trinidad was a canal schooner working the iron, coal, grain and later lumber trades. She survived a dockside sinking at Silver Islet in 1880 and returned to service. Early on May 11, 1881, carrying coal toward Milwaukee after passing the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, she foundered when leaking overwhelmed her pumps. Captain Higgins and the crew escaped in the yawl and rowed to Ahnapee, now Algoma. Brendon Baillod and Robert Jaeck located the nearly complete wreck in July 2023, followed by a Wisconsin Historical Society survey.

Vessel

Built: 1867
Builder: William Keefe
Yard: Grand Island, New York
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: May 11, 1881
Cause: Mechanical failure
Location: Lake Michigan off Algoma, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cargo: Coal
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Captain Higgins

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Nearly complete hull with intact deckhouse and two of three cargo hatches still closed. Wisconsin Historical Society surveyed the wreck in August 2023.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: July 2023
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 44.60° N 87.24° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Algoma, Wisconsin
Region: Door County & Lake Michigan

Institutional public map point retained as reported/unconfirmed; no horizontal-error estimate or point-specific survey provenance supplied.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (91/100)

Crew total, exact dimensions, mast count and depth are not established in the full source reviewed; the map position lacks a published error estimate.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks — Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society — Trinidad
Complete construction, service, final-voyage and present-wreck accounts; recovered earlier casualties, casualty contradictions or final rig configuration distinguished. Public map point qualified.