Grant to Document and Survey Five Shipwrecks

The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) recently received a $170,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration Transportation Enhancement program that will fund the documenting and surveying of five shipwrecks in Lake Michigan. Divers will measure, photograph, and sketch the vessels to create a digital mosaic to show landlubbers how the wrecks appear underwater.

The five wrecks that have been selected include the S.S. Milwaukee (near Whitefish Bay), the EMBA (near Milwaukee's main harbor), the Floretta (near Manitowoc), the America (near Kewaunee), and the Lakeland (near Sturgeon Bay). These ships sank between 1880 and 1932 and were selected for this project because "they represent a cross section of historically significant vessels" (JSonline release).

For more information about Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks, visit the UW Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society site, wisconsinshipwrecks.org. The Wisconsin's Maritime Trails site was also created based on the Maritime Trails program founded by WHS. The Water Library also has a reading list of books about Great Lakes Shipwrecks.

Photo property of the Wisconsin Historical Society.