A Lake Michigan shipwreck off Door County that was missing for almost 140 years and only found last summer was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Wisconsin Historical Society announced that the wreck of the 144-foot-long, three-masted schooner F.J. King, which sank in 1886 but wasn’t located until 2025, was listed July 29, on the national register, about five months after it was listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places. It lies submerged in about 140 feet of water in Lake Michigan off Baileys Harbor and Liberty Grove.
The shipwreck is historically significant because the remains are a very intact example of a Great Lakes shipping vessel, a news release from the historical society said. The release, and the listing for the F.J. King on the Wisconsin Shipwrecks website, said the wreck already has been a source of information on wooden schooner construction of the time and should continue to provide maritime archaeological information.
The King sits upright on the lake bed, although while the hull is intact, damage sustained during its sinking is evident at the bow, the news release said. Additionally, its cabin blew off due to expanding air pressure in the hull as it plunged to the lake bottom, which damaged the sides of the hull near the cabin.
Along with the hull, all hull components remain intact on the ship or hidden within the hull, with some scattered on the surrounding lake bed. The cabin framing, windlass, spars and rigging, bilge pump, centerboard winch, cargo, ship wheel and rudder remain on the site.
The F.J. King was constructed as a double-masted vessel in 1867 by master shipbuilder George R. Rogers in Toledo, Ohio, to service the coal and grain trade between Lake Michigan and the lower Great Lakes. It underwent several ownership changes during its service, homeporting in Chicago and then New York, and in 1885, the year before it sank, had its third mast added and was adapted for the lumber and iron ore trades, although its lines remained the same as they were when it was built.
It was what was called a “canal schooner” or “canaller,” a type of vessel unique to the Great Lakes because it was designed to transit the locks of the Welland Canal that bypassed Niagara Falls while carrying the maximum amount of cargo through the locks with only inches to spare. The canallers generally sailed from Lake Michigan ports with grain from the Midwest and brought it to eastern ports on Lakes Erie and Ontario, then returned to Lake Michigan with coal to heat cities and power factories.
The F.J. King sank Sept. 15, 1886, while carrying iron ore south from Escanaba, Michigan, to Chicago when it was hit by a southeastern gale that raised waves of 8 to 10 feet, according to the Shipwreck World website. The hull split seams and started leaking, and the ship’s pumps could not keep up with the incoming water. Other efforts over several hours to keep it afloat failed. Capt. William Griffin and crew escaped in the ship’s yawl before the King sank bow-first at about 2 a.m. The crew later were picked up by the schooner La Petite.
The location of the wreck’s remains was unknown, though, and finding it became something of a Holy Grail for maritime archaeologists and shipwreck enthusiasts, according to the Shipwreck World story, with diving clubs offering rewards for its discovery.
After 139 years, the F.J. King was found in June 2025 when a citizen science class held on the water by Brendon Baillod, president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association, to learn remote sonar operation detected a sunken vessel that subsequently was determined to be the King. The site was documented by Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologists and volunteers in August and October 2025.
State and federal laws protect the wreck of the F.J. King. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. For more information on the King and other shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters, visit wisconsinshipwrecks.org. For more on State Register and National Register historic listings in Wisconsin, which are administered by the Wisconsin Historical Society, visit wisconsinhistory.org.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County shipwreck lost for 139 years now a national historic place
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
