The schooner Lookout was constructed in 1855, was used in the Great Lakes coal, lumber, and grain trades, and lost in 1897. Nineteenth-century wooden vessels were rarely built to drawn plans. Today, little documentation exists that illustrates how these vessels were constructed, the nuances of differing hull lines, construction techniques, and adaptations to bulk cargo needs between sailing vessel types. As one of the few remaining pre-Civil War built schooners in Wisconsin waters, data gathered on Lookout has significantly added to the understanding of Great Lakes schooner construction. Most of the Lookout’s hull components are present within the wreck site, and the site retains excellent archaeological integrity. Sites such as Lookout present a rare opportunity to study and learn about historic wooden vessel construction, and the ways these ships were used in the grain, coal, and lumber trades. Her wreck site was forgotten after a brief salvage in 1897 and covered by sand in Lake Michigan. Only recently uncovered from the sand in the summer of 2015, she remains lightly visited.

The Lookout is an example of a vessel type that was vital to Wisconsin’s economy and the economy of the Midwest through maritime bulk cargo transportation, an infrastructure prior to the development of road and rail networks. Before rail lines were constructed, vessels like the Lookout moved the vast majority of Midwestern corn and grain to ports on Lake Erie. On her return trip, the Lookout mainly carried coal cargoes that supplied the Upper Midwest with fuel for heating and industry. This trade fueled the expansion of the Grain Belt and the construction of large elevators on western Lake Michigan, some of which are still in operation today.

State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. More information on Wisconsin's historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks website: www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org.