1886 shipwreck is found ‘remarkably intact’ in Lake Michigan using clues from old newspaper clipping: Steamship Milwaukee sank after colliding with another vessel

Almost a century-and-a-half after a ship sunk in Lake Michigan, explorers have discovered the wreck ‘remarkably intact’ after they followed clues from newspaper clippings dating back to the 1880s.

The steamship Milwaukee sank after crashing into another ship in 1886. It was found some 360 feet beneath the surface of the lake, announced explorers from the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association over the weekend at the organization annual film festival.

Researchers say they first located the wreck last June using sonar technology. They further examined the sunken ship with a remote operated vehicle that was able to chart the depths of the lake.

According to CBS News, Valerie van Heest – who created the search grid used to find the ship – said that it was ‘newspaper accounts ts of the sinking that provided the clues we needed to locate the shipwreck.’

Papers from July 1886 described a course set by the Milwaukee to Muskegon, Michigan, where it would pick up lumber that it would then haul to Chicago.

The course was very similar to that of the C. Hickox, which departed Muskegon for Chicago on the same July day, with a load of lumber and a schooner barge in tow.

The Milwaukee was at the time owned by businessman Lyman Gates Mason, whose lumber company accounted for the product the ship would be transporting.

The 135-foot ship originally had three decks, including one designed for passengers. But, following the Wall Street panic of 1873, many ships like the Milwaukee were repurposed to accommodate fewer passengers and more cargo.

Mason bought the Milwaukee in 1883 and converted to exclusively haul lumber – though it is unclear exactly how he altered the ship, because there are no known historical records or photographs of the changes made.

On the day of the crash, the lake was calm, though smoke from wildfires out of Wisconsin hung in the air.

The ships wound up on a collision course for one another, a situation made worse by the fact that neither vessel’s captain followed then-modern navigational rules, which would have required them to slow down, move to the right, and sound their steam whistles.

The captain of the Hickox, who had extremely limited visibility due to ‘a thick fog’ that had rolled in, eventually turned and attempted to pull his steam whistle.

But the chain attached to the whistle broke and a short while later the Hickox smashed into the Milwaukee’s side.

The MSRA said that ‘pandemonium broke out on the Milwaukee. The captain went below deck and saw water pouring in.’

Two hours after the crash, the Milwaukee sank to the bottom of the lake. Everyone aboard made it safely to the Hickox before the ship descended to its watery grave.

One researcher said that the exploration team found the wreck after just two days of looking because of the detailed accounts of the accident. 

The cargo ship sunk in July of 1886 when a similar ship, carrying lumber along the same route, crashed into its side

Researchers say their discovery was aided significantly by local newspaper reports dating back to the week the ship sunk

The team says they spent just two days searching for the sunken wreck before finding it – due in part to ‘excellent visibility’

Researchers used an underwater robot to take impressively clear images of the wreck, which they shared over the weekend

The Milwaukee is said by researchers to be in exceptionally good condition for a 140-year-old sunken ship. The research team has been able to figure out, based on their images, what modifications were made to the vessel when it became a cargo ship

Researchers say they first located the wreck last June using sonar technology. They further examined the sunken ship with a remote operated vehicle that was able to chart the depths of the lake

The Milwaukee is the second sunken ship in just a few months to be found hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Michigan

Jack van Heest, who piloted the ROV for the team, said ‘visibility was excellent’ at the bottom of the lake.

‘We saw the forward mast still standing as the ROV headed down to the bottom.’

After the collision in 1886, both captains temporarily lost their licenses.

MSRA wrote: ‘Slowing down in the face of danger may be the most important lesson this shipwreck can teach.’

The announcement of the discovery comes mere more after a man and his daughter happened across the remains of a different ship that sank in Lake Michigan 15 years before the Milwaukee, in 1871.