Located 7.5 miles southeast of Michigan Island in Lake Superior, the wreck site of the schooner-barge Antelope lies embedded in the clay in 300 feet of water. Launched in 1861 and lost in 1897, Antelope is a prime example of early wooden steamer construction and converted barge construction. Much of our understanding of this vessel type has come from archaeological data recovered from wreck sites like Antelope.

Antelope was initially built as a propeller, constructed by Master Shipbuilder Jacob L. Wolverton and launched from his shipyard at Newport (Marine City), Michigan in early August 1861. On 7 October 1897, Antelope was bound up with a cargo of coal to be dropped off at the Ashland Coal Company dock in Ashland, in tow of the steamer Hiram W. Sibley. Hiram W. Sibley’s captain was towing the schooner too fast in the choppy sea and the thirty-six year old Antelope’s seams opened. The pumps were started, but water came in faster than it could be pumped out and it was soon realized that the ship could not be saved. The Antelope’s crew transferred to the Hiram W. Sibley and was taken to Duluth. Wreckage of the Antelope, including the cabin and other loose material, was sighted by the crew of the schooner Gawn off Michigan Island.

Sites such as Antelope present a rare opportunity to study and learn about historic wooden steamer construction and converted barge conversion, and how these vessels were used in the initial transportation of passengers, then in the transportation of trade goods, and in the Great Lakes grain and coal industries.

Antelope is as early example of a passenger packet steamer that was converted to a lumber steamer, and later cut down and converted into a barge in the Great Lakes tradition of converting old wooden schooners and steamers into “floating wheelbarrows” for large bulk cargos. The wreck site remained unknown following its sinking in 1897, until its discovery by avocational wreck hunters in 2016. Since then, only one crew of archaeologists has visited the site using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and multibeam sonar. With no visitation from divers and no invasive mussel populations, the site has retained remarkable structural and archaeological integrity since its sinking in 1897.

State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove or structure when visitng this site. Removing, defacing 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