150-Year-Old Passenger Steamer Wreck Discovered In Lake Michigan

The wreck of the passenger steamer Lac La Belle, which sank in a gale on Lake Michigan in October 1872, has been located more than 150 years after the incident.

The discovery was made in October 2022 by a team led by Illinois-based shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn and was announced by the organisation Shipwreck World.

The vessel was found around 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The public announcement was delayed while the team prepared a three-dimensional video model of the wreck.

Poor weather and other commitments prevented divers from returning to the site until last summer.

Ehorn, 80, has been searching for Great Lakes shipwrecks since 1965 and said he had been attempting to determine the location of the Lac La Belle since that time.

In 2022, he narrowed the search area using a historical clue provided by fellow wreck hunter and maritime historian Ross Richardson.

The vessel was located using side-scan sonar within two hours of surveying the revised search grid.

Richardson said he had learned that a commercial fisherman at a specific location had snagged an object associated with 19th-century steamships.

The Lac La Belle was built in 1864 in Cleveland, Ohio. The 217-foot wooden steamer initially operated between Cleveland and Lake Superior.

In 1866, she sank in 25 feet of water in the St. Clair River following a collision. She was raised in 1869 and underwent full reconditioning before returning to service.

Milwaukee’s Englemann Transportation Company later purchased the vessel for passenger service between Milwaukee and Grand Haven, Michigan.

On the night of 13 October 1872, the vessel departed Milwaukee in a gale carrying 53 passengers and crew, along with a cargo that included 19,000 bushels of barley, 1,200 barrels of flour, 50 barrels of pork and 25 barrels of whiskey.

Approximately two hours into the voyage, the ship began taking on water from an unknown source.

The captain attempted to return to Milwaukee, but worsening conditions and heavy seas extinguished the boiler fires.

The vessel drifted south for several hours before lifeboats were lowered at around 5am. The ship subsequently sank stern-first.

One of the lifeboats capsized in heavy seas, resulting in eight fatalities. The remaining lifeboats reached shore between Racine and Kenosha.

According to Ehorn, the wreck lies upright with its hull largely intact, although the upper cabins have been lost.

The exterior is covered with quagga mussels, but wooden framing and some cargo remain visible.

Divers filmed the site after Ehorn recruited John Janzen and John Scoles to assist in documenting the wreck.

Ehorn plans to produce a detailed 3D photogrammetry model of the site before disclosing its location. He is scheduled to present the discovery at the 2026 Ghost Ships Festival at the Inn on Maritime Bay in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on 7 March 2026.

The Great Lakes are estimated to contain between 6,000 and 10,000 shipwrecks, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Water Library.

Concerns have grown in recent years that invasive quagga mussels are contributing to the deterioration of submerged wrecks.

The Lac La Belle is the 15th shipwreck located by Ehorn.

Reference: shipwreckworld

Source: Maritime Shipping News