NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary

09/08/2026

A few weeks ago, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary partnered with the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association - WUAA to conduct a side scan survey of Maritime Bay to document various pieces of wreckage located in the bay.

The survey covered the shallow bay just north of Manitowoc, where 10 different targets were identified! Following the side scan survey, the team returned to Maritime Bay with a small ROV and later divers visited the sites gathering additional information.

Take a look at some additional photos from the project! Researchers were granted some amazing water clarity during the project, allowing these sites to be documented in great detail.

Projects like this allow the sanctuary to further document and protect the region's historic maritime sites, and learn more about Wisconsin's maritime history!



[image descriptions: images of the side scan sonar and ROV survey of Maritime Bay (NOAA), underwater stills of one site investigated by ROV (Bob Jaeck), underwater images of divers investigating sites (NOAA)]

09/03/2026

Last week, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary divers returned to Maritime Bay to dive on some of the recently surveyed wreckage!

Maritime archaeologists were able to investigate three of the original ten sites that were documented by side scan sonar a few weeks ago to gather additional images, measurements, and information that can help in identifying these sites.

Located between Manitowoc and Two Rivers, Maritime Bay has historically been used as a ship ""bone yard"", where many old, outdated vessels were taken to be abandoned. Just after the turn of the 20th century, many older wooden vessels were towed to this section of Maritime Bay, grounded, and set on fire when they were no longer of use by shipping companies. Most burned to the waterline and were left to sink and become covered by the sands of the bay. Tens of ships were abandoned here, and many of their remains are now being uncovered by the sand!

This additional information gathered by divers, along with data gathered from the side scan sonar and ROV survey last month, will help researchers identify vessel types, document additional information, and gather more data that can help in the identification of these sites. Repeated visits to these sites are important as sand continues to move in and out of the bay, covering and uncovering additional details and pieces of wreckage. Stay tuned for more information as investigations continue!



[image descriptions: underwater images of three shipwreck sites in Maritime Bay (NOAA)]

09/02/2026

Hello and welcome back to another ! Today we are featuring the sidewheel paddle steamer NIAGARA!

NIAGARA was built in 1845 by shipbuilders Mason & Bidwell in Buffalo, New York for the New York & Erie Railway Company of Erie, to operate as a passenger and packet freight steamer, taking passengers and cargo throughout the Great Lakes. Known as a “palace” steamer, the vessel was considered one of the most luxurious passenger steamers of its time and could carry nearly 300 passengers: 75 passengers in cabins on its upper deck, and nearly 180 passengers below deck in steerage. Many of the steerage passengers were early European immigrants coming westward to settle.

On September 24, 1856, while just north of Port Washington, a fire was discovered in NIAGARA’s hold, which quickly began to spread. Passengers attempted to get into lifeboats as the wooden vessel quickly went up in flames. With the fire spreading so rapidly, many passengers jumped into the water or into lifeboats from the vessel’s deck in an attempt to escape the flames. There is a particularly interesting story involving a US Senator, who reportedly panicked on deck and attempted to jump from the deck into one of the lifeboats, already in the water. Unfortunately, this action caused the lifeboat to overturn, dumping himself and passengers into the water, none of whom survived.

The few passengers who made it to the lifeboats, as well as many passengers and crew who’d ended up in the chilly waters of Lake Michigan were rescued by nearby vessels and taken to Port Washington. In the end, 60 passengers and crew did not survive. The vessel burned to the waterline and sank, approximately a mile north of Port Washington.

Today, the aft section of NIAGARA sits in 55 feet of water, with its walking beam engine, floor keelsons, side hull sections, and boilers remaining. The vessel’s two paddlewheels used to remain intact and upright, however; years of damage caused them to collapse. Sections of the paddlewheels can still be seen lying in the sand. Recently, many of the artifacts salvaged from the wreck in the 1960s - 1970s by Butch Klopp were donated to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum as part of the Butch Klopp collection and are undergoing continuing analysis and cataloguing.

The site was recorded by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program in the mid-1990s, and NIAGARA was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 2021, divers and archaeologists from the sanctuary and other partners returned to NIAGARA to collect additional monitoring data, along with images for a 3D model! The site now has a seasonal Sanctuary mooring buoy for divers to enjoy!

(Historical research and archaeological information compiled by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Maritime Archaeology and Preservation Program)



[image descriptions: a historical drawing of NIAGARA (C. Patrick Labadie – Thunder Bay Research Collection), an underwater image of underwater archaeologists investigating NIAGARA’s wreck site (Nick Zachar/NOAA), a 3D model of NIAGARA (NOAA)]

08/28/2026

Sneak peek alert! 🚨🚨🚨

A new activity book for kids of all ages is coming soon! Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is developing an activity book that will teach kids about the sanctuary, maritime history, and many of the shipwrecks located here. The activity book will include word searches, coloring pages, crosswords, and more!

Find one in one of the sanctuary communities near you, soon!

[image captions: images of activity book pages in process (NOAA), an image of the activity book front cover (NOAA; photo credit: Becky Kagan Schott)]

08/26/2026

Hello and welcome to another ! This week we are featuring the Goodrich Transportation Company steamer ATLANTA!

ATLANTA was built as a wooden steamer in 1891 at the Cleveland Dry Dock Company in Cleveland, Ohio for the Goodrich Transportation Company. The vessel operated as a passenger and packet freight steamer, carrying passengers and manufactured goods across Lake Michigan for most of its career. ATLANTA was known as one of the most luxurious passenger vessels sailing on Lake Michigan at the time. The vessel was outfit with mahogany doors and staircases, embossed wall coverings, dark blue and gold plush carpeting, upholstered chairs, running water, and electricity.

ATLANTA ran a regular cross-lake route between Chicago, Muskegon and Grand Haven, Michigan for much of its career. After 1895, ATLANTA began visiting ports along Wisconsin's Lake Michigan coast from Chicago as far north and Green Bay and Marinette. With a capacity for 195 passengers per voyage, many people boarded ATLANTA to travel along Wisconsin's shoreline over the years.

On March 18, 1906, while steaming along western Lake Michigan, 14 miles south of Sheboygan with passengers and freight, a fire was discovered in ATLANTA's hold. Despite the efforts of the crew to put it out, and the vessel’s newly installed sprinkler system, the flames continued to spread rapidly. Luckily, the Smith Brothers fishing tug TESSLER and Goodrich steamer GEORGIA were nearby and rendered assistance quickly. All of the passengers and crew (save one) were able to be transferred to GEORGIA and taken ashore. Following the rescue, TESSLER towed ATLANTA close to shore where it burned to the waterline and sank in shallow water. In 1920, ATLANTA's boilers and machinery were salvaged. Since then, many of ATLANTA’s remaining artifacts have washed ashore, while other artifacts have been recovered by salvors.

Today, ATLANTA lies in 17 feet of water, 800 feet from shore, off of the Cedar Grove Hawk Research Station. The site’s location has been known and visited since the vessel’s loss. ATLANTA sits parallel to shore on a sandy bottom. Sand and organic material move in and out of the area, and covers much of the interior of the vessel. Over the years, this moving sand covers and uncovers different sections of the vessel’s interior and the remaining artifacts within. Though fire, salvage, and looting over the years has destroyed the vessel’s upper decks, machinery, and much of the cargo, the vessel’s lower hull remains intact, along with various artifacts and machinery found inside the structure. When the water is calm and clear, the entire wreck site can be seen from the water's surface.

ATLANTA was documented by archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation Program, in partnership with faculty and students from East Carolina University’s Program in Maritime Studies during a three-week field school in 2016, and the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. In 2021, NOAA maritime archaeologists returned to the site to gather multibeam and side scan sonar data. A seasonal marker buoy indicates the site for paddlers and snorkelers.

(Historical research and archaeological information compiled by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Maritime Archaeology and Preservation Program and East Carolina University’s Program in Maritime Studies)



[image descriptions: historic image of ATLANTA at port (C. Patrick Labadie - Thunder Bay Research Collection), historic image of ATLANTA in the ice (C. Patrick Labadie - Thunder Bay Research Collection), an image of students documenting ATLANTA, taken from the water's surface (Caitlin Zant), a multibeam sonar image of ATLANTA, side scan sonar image of ATLANTA (NOAA)]

08/25/2026

Calling all educators!

Are you interested in building ROVs and teaching your students how to build ROVs? Then you're in luck, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is partnering with Mate ROV to host the Mate ROV Academy. This Academy is FREE and is designed to empower educators with the confidence and skills to begin leading classes of their own using the Pufferfish ROV kit.

Reserve your spot now! Seats are filling fast!

08/20/2026

Sanctuary Survey Updates!! ⛴🗺

Last week, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary partnered with the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association - WUAA to conduct a side scan survey of Maritime Bay! This survey was intended to document various pieces of wreckage located in the bay that had originally been identified by the Wisconsin Historical Society and local fishermen, as well as document any additional pieces of wreckage in the bay. The survey covered the shallow bay just north of Manitowoc, where 10 different targets were identified!

Following the side scan survey, the team returned to Maritime Bay with a small ROV and was able to gather additional information from five different sites. This information will help researchers identify vessel lengths, vessel types, and collect other information that can help in identifying these sites further.

Located between Manitowoc and Two Rivers, Maritime Bay has historically been used as a ship ""bone yard"", where many old, outdated vessels were taken to be abandoned. Just after the turn of the 20th century, many older wooden vessels were towed to this section of Maritime Bay, grounded, and set on fire when they were no longer of use by shipping companies. Most burned to the waterline and were left to sink and become covered by the sands of the bay. Tens of ships were abandoned here, and many of their remains are now being uncovered by the sand!

While some of the wreckage in the bay has been identified, other wrecks remain unidentified. This side scan and ROV survey was one of the first steps in studying these vessels, and potentially being able to identify them. The data collected is still undergoing processing and more archaeological documentation is ongoing! Stay tuned to learn more!



[image descriptions: images of the side scan sonar and ROV survey of Maritime Bay (NOAA), underwater stills of one site investigated by ROV (Bob Jaeck)]

08/19/2026

Hello and welcome back to another ! This week we are featuring the schooner PATHFINDER!

PATHFINDER was built in 1869 by Campbell, Owen and Company in Detroit, Michigan as a large schooner. Measuring 188 feet in length, PATHFINDER was outfit with a massive, reinforced keelson structure to give the wooden vessel longitudinal strength. The schooner spent much of its career in the Great Lakes grain trade, carrying grain from the upper Great Lakes eastward, and returning with coal from ports on Lake Erie. In 1872, PATHFINDER's hull was further strengthened in order for the vessel to carry the weight of iron ore cargos in addition to cargos of grain and coal. By 1877 the vessel had acquired some damage and underwent major repairs, including receiving a new deck. continuing on in service across the Great Lakes for another nearly 10 years.

After its repairs, PATHFINDER continued to ply the Great Lakes for nearly 10 more years, until November 1886. On November 17, PATHFINDER was being towed around Rawley Point (then Twin Rivers Point) by the steam barge JIM SHERIFFS with a cargo of iron ore when the two vessels were caught in a massive snowstorm. During the storm, PATHFINDER began to ice up, eventually causing its towline to break. Despite several attempts to reconnect the vessel to the steam barge, PATHFINDER was pushed ashore by the waves. The vessel quickly settled into the "quicksand" that surrounds the point. The combination of the vessel's heavy cargo of iron ore and the gelatinous quicksand on Rawley Point, the vessel could not be pulled off. After a few days, the vessel began to break up and it was declared a total loss.

Today, PATHFINDER sits upright and broken in approximately 17 feet of water, off the northern end of Point Beach State Forest. The vessel was discovered by ultralight pilot, Suzze Johnson in 2013, and recorded by the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation Program in 2014, resulting in the site being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. Although the upper hull sections have broken away, PATHFINDER’s bow and heavily reinforced keelson remain intact, along with part of the vessel’s cargo of iron ore. Due to its shallow depth, PATHFINDER can be seen from the water’s surface on calm, clear days.

In 2023, NOAA divers and archaeologists from Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary revisited PATHFINDER and documented the site using photogrammetry. This type of documentation helps archaeologists monitor and manage wreck sites from year to year. In places such as Rawley Point, this is especially important due to the vast changes these sites experience with the shifting sands. A sanctuary marker buoy identifies the site each season, from June to October, marking it for paddlers and boaters.

(Historical research and archaeological information compiled by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Maritime Archaeology and Preservation Program)



[image descriptions: an underwater image of an archaeologist documenting PATHFINDER's bow, an underwater image of a diver swimming along PATHFINDER’s hull, a screen shot of PATHFINDER’s 3D model, an underwater image of PATHFINDER's broken hull, an image of PATHFINDER’s bow (NOAA)]

08/18/2026

More Buoy news!! A brand new data buoy is now located just off shore near Sheboygan!

Last week, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary staff assisted with the deployment of a NEW data buoy just off Sheboygan. This buoy is designed and maintained by the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences and gives real time wind, wave, and water temperature data, as well as live footage of the conditions on Lake Michigan! The buoy's data will be live soon at the National Buoy Data Center's page: https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/.

Stay tuned for more information!

[image captions: images of the new Sheboygan data buoy being installed (NOAA)]

08/16/2026

Five years!!

Happy Anniversary to NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary!

Lake Michigan has a reputation for being one of the most perilous of the Great Lakes, with numerous ships having foundered here over the centuries. The 36 historic shipwreck sites within the sanctuary represent vessels that played a central role in building the nation between the 1830s and 1930s. Twenty-seven are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and research suggests that another 60 shipwrecks may yet to be discovered...

Learn more about this special place: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/wisconsin/

🌈 All year long, we will be highlighting the 🎨 palettes from across your National Marine Sanctuary System as we celebrate the site's anniversaries. Stay tuned to catch all 18 swatches!

📸: Joe Hoyt/NOAA