This is a detail from a 1974 U.S. Lake Survey Center Chart Catalog of the Great Lakes and Adjacent Waterways, which served as an index to more detailed charts.
Divers who first did research with these charts have on occasion located sunken ships "lost" for decades.
Artifacts
The WMHS has an excellent variety of ship models, company flags and artifacts. The artifacts include:
- Name boards from sunken ships
- Steering wheel, masthead light, and saluting cannon from the Christopher Columbus
- Lyle Gun, which was used to fire a line to stranded vessels
- Copper ingots from the Pewabic which sank in 1865
- Life Preservers from the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Cedarville Ship's bell from Charles S. Neff and Prins Willem V
- Commemorative Plaques of harbor visits or opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway
- Flags of the shipping companies that have sailed or are sailing on the Great Lakes.
Ship models are some of the most interesting artifacts in any marine collection, and the library has a number of outstanding models. Particularly noteworthy are:
- a magnificent five foot model of the SS John P Reiss
- an extremely detailed model of the Prins Frederik Hendrik, sister ship of the Prins Willem V
- representative models of the work of Hans C. Madsen, including a group of delightful ships-in-a-bottle
- Richard A. Young's highly acclaimed model of the Griffin, the ship first to sail the Lakes in 1679
Wisconsin Marine Historical Society
814 West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233-2385
phone 414.286.3074
email info@wmhs.org
