Two miles northeast of the Sheboygan Point, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the bulk carrier Selah Chamberlain lies on a sandy bottom 87 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan and is broken into three pieces. The Selah Chamberlain was owned by the Bradley Transportation Company and operated primarily for transport of iron ore and grain along the Great Lakes. In October of 1886, the vessel was struck on the port side by the passing steamer John Pridgeon, Jr. while navigating in a fog.

Multiple attempts to salvage the vessel occurred directly after its sinking, but to no avail. These salvage attempts attribute to the broken nature of the vessel today. Although broken, much of the vessel’s hull components remain along with the propulsion machinery, giving integrity to the site. The Selah Chamberlain is a prime example of a Great Lakes bulk carrier used to carry bulk cargo, and provides historians and archaeologists the chance to study and document this unique vessel type.

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