4 miles east of Bender Park, Lake Michigan
Historic Name: | Lumberman Shipwreck |
---|---|
Reference Number: | 08001331 |
Location (Address): | 4 miles east of Bender Park, Lake Michigan |
---|---|
County: | Milwaukee |
City/Village: | Oak Creek |
Township: |
Lumberman Shipwreck Lake Michigan, Milwaukee County Builder: Allyne Litchfield Date of construction: 1862 The remains of the schooner Lumberman lie in 55 feet of water in Lake Michigan four miles east of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Built in 1862 in the remote, frontier shipyard of Allyne Litchfield in Blendon's Landing, Michigan, the Lumberman was built specifically for transportation of lumber products. The three-masted, double centerboard schooner Lumberman sank in a fast moving Lake Michigan storm on 6 April 1893. Although much of the ship's equipment and the crew's personal effect have been salvaged by divers, the Lumberman is remarkably intact and provides historians and archaeologists the unique opportunity to study construction techniques on this unique vessel type. Built specifically for the Lake Michigan lumber trade, today it is unknown why some builders equipped their vessels with double centerboards while the majority of Great Lakes builders installed only one. Little documentation exists in the historic record regarding double centerboard schooners, and the Lumberman is one of only four double centerboard schooners known to exist in Wisconsin waters, making her an important archaeological resource. State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this shipwreck 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. |
Period of Significance: | 1862-1893 |
---|---|
Area of Significance: | Archeology/Historic - Non-Aboriginal |
Area of Significance: | Commerce |
Area of Significance: | Maritime History |
Applicable Criteria: | Information Potential |
Historic Use: | Transportation: Water-Related |
Architectural Style: | Other |
Resource Type: | Site |
Architect: | Litchfield, Allyne |
Historic Status: | Listed in the National Register |
---|---|
Historic Status: | Listed in the State Register |
National Register Listing Date: | 01/14/2009 |
State Register Listing Date: | 07/18/2008 |
Number of Contributing Buildings: | 0 |
---|---|
Number of Contributing Sites: | 1 |
Number of Contributing Structures: | 0 |
Number of Contributing Objects: | 0 |
Number of Non-Contributing Sites: | 1 |
Number of Non-Contributing Structures: | 0 |
Number of Non-Contributing Objects: | 0 |
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |