Boaz Shipwreck Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
For Immediate Release (October 30, 2023)
Liberty Grove, Door County, WI. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Boaz shipwreck in the National Register of Historic Places on October 10, 2023. The Boaz lies submerged in Lake Michigan about one-half mile southeast of the entrance to North Bay.
Built in 1869 by Amos C. Stoakes in Sheboygan, Boaz was one of a unique class of Great Lakes vessels: the double centerboard schooner. Little historical documentation exists on double centerboard schooner construction and operation. Much of what is known about this vessel type has come from archaeological data recovered from wreck sites.
The vessel spent most of its career carrying lumber from various ports throughout the Great Lakes region. In November 1900, Boaz was caught in a gale, quickly began to leak heavily, and sought shelter in nearby North Bay. The schooner struck the point and the crew dropped anchor. Fearing the vessel would capsize in the waves, the crew abandoned the vessel and Boaz was later towed into the bay. Boaz was abandoned after recovery attempts proved to be too costly. Today, the vessel sits upright, with many of its hull components intact and many more extant beneath the sand.
More information on Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Shipwrecks website at www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org.
Additional information for the Boaz shipwreck is available at
https://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/70.
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit https://wisconsinhistory.org/hp/register/.
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 wisconsinhistory.org.