Lumberman (shipwreck)
shipwreck in Lake Michigan
Lumberman was a three-masted schooner that sank in 1893 in Lake Michigan off the coast of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States. In 2009 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
History
The Lumberman was built in 1862 in the shipyard of Allyne Litchfield at Blendon's Landing, Michigan. She was a three-masted schooner with a wooden hull 126.5 feet (38.6 m) long. For thirty years, she carried forest products like lumber, bark and shingles from logging outposts on the shores of Lake Michigan to markets like Chicago.
On April 6, 1893, heading from Chicago to Whitefish Bay to pick up a load of ties, the vessel sank in a fast-moving storm. Much of the ship's equipment and the crew's personal effects have been salvaged, but the ship itself remains largely intact and is a popular site for divers and archaeologists. She is of particular interest to marine archaeologists because of the double centerboard she was equipped with, since the reasons for fitting two centerboards in some lake schooners and one in others has been lost. She lies in 53 to 70 feet (16 to 21 m) of water, roughly 10 miles (16 km) north of Wind Point.
The public source identifies “Lumberman (shipwreck)” as shipwreck in Lake Michigan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lumberman, shipwreck and Lake.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Lumberman (shipwreck)”, the useful work is to connect “shipwreck in Lake Michigan” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6703113. The first chronological checks are 1893, 2009 and 1862.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow Lumberman (shipwreck) primary sources, Lumberman (shipwreck) archive and Lumberman research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Lumberman (shipwreck)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.