On a rocky bottom, 520 feet east of the shores of Sand Bay Peninsula, on the Green Bay side of Door County, the barge Advance lies broken in 8 feet of water. The barge was built in 1871 by Alvin A. Turner in Trenton, Michigan for the Peshtigo Lumber Company. The vessel spent 50 years towed around Lake Michigan until she went ashore in a storm and was lost in 1921.

The barge Advance is representative of a little discussed vessel type that was once common throughout the Great Lakes, the barge. Little historical documentation exists on the construction and conversion of the barges. Evidence of a bustle on the shipwreck site allows the opportunity to learn more about barge conversion techniques. Advance also plays an important role in understanding the towing and wrecking industry. Her use as a lighter allows for insights into the methods and equipment used in salvage.

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.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks