Great Lakes cargo ship that wrecked off Baileys Harbor - twice - is now a historic place

Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·4 min read

BAILEYS HARBOR - A cargo ship that ended up returning to the scene of its accident, and sinking yet again, is the most recent Door County shipwreck to be recognized and protected by the state.

The Wisconsin Historical Society announced Friday the wreck of the Peoria, a mostly intact 19th-century lumber schooner in the bay off Baileys Harbor, was added to the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places. That makes it the fourth shipwreck in Door County waters, all on the Lake Michigan side of the Peninsula, to join the state register in 2023.

Sitting in sand under the water off Baileys Harbor, the wreck of the 19th-century cargo schooner Peoria was placed on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places, making it the fourth Door County shipwreck to join the register this year.
Sitting in sand under the water off Baileys Harbor, the wreck of the 19th-century cargo schooner Peoria was placed on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places, making it the fourth Door County shipwreck to join the register this year.

The shipwreck is located about 0.15 miles northeast of the entrance to the Baileys Harbor marina. It lies 7 feet below the water’s surface in the sandy bottom of the bay, sitting upright and mostly intact with its bow and stern buried beneath the sand.

A news release from the historical society said the Peoria was recognized because, as an early wooden schooner, it provides historians and archaeologists a rare chance to study construction of such vessels, as well as the grain, lumber and bulk cargo trades of its time.

The Peoria was built in Ohio over the winter of 1853 and 1854 and carried bulk cargo throughout the Great Lakes throughout her career. She also was involved in at least three collisions with other ships between 1856 and 1861, according to the Wisconsin Shipwrecks website, and had to be repaired numerous times.

Ironically, one of the Peoria's earlier wrecks happened very near where she came to its final resting place 21 years later, when a strong gale in October 1880 washed her ashore on the reef at the Baileys Harbor lighthouse. Her owners abandoned her as a total loss at the time, but a new owner salvaged and rebuilt the boat, putting her back into service in May 1881.

On Nov. 10, 1901, the Peoria was heading from Michigan to Chicago with 140,000 feet of hardwood lumber for cargo when she was hit by a southerly gale. The captain attempted to shelter and anchor in the bay off Baileys Harbor, but the anchors apparently slipped and the winds pushed the vessel into shallow water in front of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights, where she quickly settled into the sand.

A lifesaving crew went out to rescue the Peoria's crew of six, which they did, but the ship fell apart in the wind. The historical society said the cargo was salvaged, but no insurance was on the vessel and it was declared a total loss for the second time in its career − this time for keeps.

The Peoria is the 30th wreck in Door County waters on the state register. Earlier this year, the historical society also added the Emeline, which lies not far away off Anclam Park in Baileys Harbor, and the lumber schooners Boaz and Sunshine, both in North Bay off Lake Michigan. The Emeline, Boaz and Sunshine since have been added to the National Register of Historic Places as well.

If you're wondering why or how Door County was able to have four wrecks added to the state register in less than a year, Tamara Thomsen, maritime archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society, said it's a little bit of killing two birds with one stone.

She said in an email to the Advocate that historical society archaeologists visited Door County on two occasions to separately survey first the Boaz and then the Emeline; those vessels were very rare double-centerboard cargo schooners from the late 19th century.

Thomsen said the crew finished their survey of the Boaz several days earlier than scheduled and were notified about the nearby Sunshine, so because they had the time and accommodations already set aside and paid for, they surveyed the Sunshine on the same visit. Similarly, the crew finished their work early on the Emeline and learned the Peoria was exposed out of its sandy bed, so they used the spare time to survey the Peoria.

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. For more information on the Peoria, visit wisconsinhistory.org or wisconsinshipwrecks.org.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

MORE: Death's Door stories depicting 'true tales of tragedy, mystery and bravery' told in graphic novel

MORE: Familiar face returns to promote Door County race track; Kewaunee County track still in limbo

FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County shipwreck that sank twice in same place is now historic