Emily Chan
More than 130 years after a 130-foot schooner called the Margaret A. Muir sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan, its wreck has been found off the coast of Wisconsin.
A group of maritime historians with the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association used historical records and a high-resolution sonar device to locate the lost ship.
The efforts to find the Margaret A. Muir all started two decades ago when maritime historian Brendan Baillod began compiling a database of lost shipwrecks in Wisconsin. Last year, a search for the ship was launched. They were able to narrow the search area to a grid of five square miles.
Then, on May 12, researchers took off in a 16-foot motorboat to explore the area. Just as they were about to call off the day’s search, they noticed something unusual at the bottom of the lake.
It turned out to be the remains of the Margaret A. Muir. The wreck was 50 feet below water and was a few miles away from the harbor of Algoma, Wisconsin.
An expedition was organized to take high-resolution photos of the wreck. Researchers created a three-dimensional model of the ship using the images. The vessel’s deck was collapsed, and the sides were unattached.
However, the gear on deck, including “two giant anchors, hand pumps, its bow windlass, and its capstan,” remained intact.
Experts will work to get the shipwreck on the National Register of Historic Places. The preservation of shipwrecks is important because they can tell the stories of the people who may have perished during the incidents.
The Margaret A. Muir was constructed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1872. For 21 years, it transported cargo across all five Great Lakes. On the day it sank, the vessel was carrying 4,375 barrels of salt and a crew of six men from Bay City, Michigan, to South Chicago, Illinois.
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