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MOSEL, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Mojave Shipwreck on the State Register of Historic Places. State Historic Preservation Officer Daina Penkiunas presented a certificate to Steve Radovan. The shipwreck is located 12.5 miles northeast of the Sheboygan Breakwater Lighthouse, partially embedded in a lakebed 295 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan.

The Mojave was christened in Detroit, Michigan, in November of 1863. One year later, it foundered in heavy weather off Sheboygan while sailing from Chicago with a cargo of grain. Historic records indicate that at least five individuals were lost with the ship. Their remains were not recovered. The vessel is completely intact up to the main deck and two of its three masts remain standing. The remains are well-preserved due to their great depth in the cold waters of Lake Michigan.

The Mojave was rigged as a barkentine with the hull lines of a sailing canaller – square, boxy and designed to navigate the locks of the Welland Canal in Ontario, which allowed ships to avoid Niagara Falls. Canallers sailed from ports on western Lake Michigan, delivering grain to ports on Lakes Erie and Ontario. On their return to Lake Michigan, vessels like the Mojave were often loaded with coal, used for heating Midwestern cities and powering factories.

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: https://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Home#anchor3

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: www.wisconsinhistory.org.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.