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Summary
Margaret A. Muir Shipwreck (Schooner)
In Lake Michigan
Builder: Hans M. Scove
Date of Construction: 1872
Margaret A. Muir was constructed by Master Shipbuilder Hans M. Scove at Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1872. The vessel operated in the Great Lakes grain, lumber, and other bulk cargo trades throughout its career between Lake Michigan and the lower Lakes. Margaret A. Muir experienced groundings and collisions which required repairs; however, its ship lines remained the same. On 29 September 1893 Margaret A. Muir was sailing on Lake Michigan bound from Bay City to South Chicago with a cargo of salt when a southeast gale struck. The ship battled the storm throughout the night and the next morning (30 September 1893) when the schooner was a few miles off Ahnapee (Algoma), Wisconsin, it fell into a trough of the mountainous sea as an enormous wave broke over the deck and sank in 57 feet of water. The ship was valued at $6,500 but insured for $4,000. After a few years, the derelict vessel was declared a hazard to navigation and in 1894, the vessel was dynamited to flatten the hazard.
The Margaret A. Muir site, which was documented by Wisconsin Historical Society archaeologists and volunteers in 2024, has not been visited by divers outside of the survey. The site has already produced a wealth of archaeological knowledge and has the potential to yield additional important archaeological data in future years. In 2024, the vessel sits upright. Its hull sides have fallen away, broken at the turn of the bilge, however, many of its hull components remain intact and many more remain extant beneath the sand. As an early wooden schooner in Wisconsin waters, Margaret A. Muir provides historians and archaeologists the chance to study wooden schooner construction and the grain, lumber, and other bulk cargo trades.
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.
Property Details
Resources Within The Property
Designations
State & National Registers of Historic Places
The State Register and National Register recognize buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are significant in national, state, or local history. The State Historic Preservation Office in conjunction with the National Park Service maintains the list for Wisconsin and makes the data available to the public for research and education.
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Email UsAttribution
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In Lake Michigan, near the Town of Gibraltar
Located in Town of Gibraltar, Door County
Address Restricted
Located in Town of Liberty Grove, Door County
Address Restricted
100011163
Located in Port Washington, Ozaukee County
0.15 miles NE of the Baileys Harbor Marina entrance, In Baileys Harbor, Lake Michigan
100010152
Located in Town of Baileys Harbor, Door County
1.1 miles southeast of the entrance of North Bay, Door County, in Lake Michigan
100009481
Located in Town of Liberty Grove, Door County
Margaret A. Muir Listed in the State Register of Historic Places
Thursday, March 06, 2025
The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Margaret A. Muir shipwreck on the State Register of Historic Places.
