Shipwrecks · America's Only Great Lake
Lake Michigan Shipwrecks
59 documented wrecks, lost between 1679 and 1960. 45 have a published wreck site, marked on the chart. 22 are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wrecks
59
Sites charted
45
National Register
22
Earliest loss
1679
The toll by decade
When Michigan took them
Wrecks in this directory by the decade they were lost. It counts documented vessels, not every loss.
Earlier: Le Griffon (1679).
How they were lost
By cause
Only where the record says it in plain words.
The big hulls
Largest Michigan wrecks by length
SS Carl D. Bradley
Self-unloading lake freighter · built 1927 · lost 1958
SS William B. Davock
Conventional dry bulk lake freighter · built 1907 · lost 1940
SS Senator
Bulk freighter · built 1896 · lost 1929
SS Anna C. Minch
Bulk freighter · built 1903
SS Pere Marquette 18
Train ferry · built 1902 · lost 1910
SS Milwaukee (1929)
Train ferry · built 1902 · lost 1929
Every Lake Michigan wreck in the directory 59
By era of loss, oldest first.
Before 1850 2
- Le GriffonBarqueLost 1679 · site unpublished
- SS PhoenixWooden steamshipLost 1847 · Fire · 140 ft · site unpublished
1850–1879 9
- GallinipperSchoonerLost 1851 · Foundered · 95 ft
- Niagara (1856)Passenger-cargo steamboatLost 1856 · Fire · 230 ft · NRHP
- HomeSchoonerLost 1858 · Collision · 84 ft · NRHP
- PS Lady ElginSidewheel steamer - passengers and package freightLost 1860 · Collision · 252 ft
- NorthernerSchoonerLost 1868 · Foundered · 81 ft · NRHP
- Lizzie ThroopSchoonerLost 1873 · Foundered · 86 ft · site unpublished
- EquinoxBulk carrierLost 1875 · Foundered · 184 ft · site unpublished
- SS MerchantPassenger and package freighterLost 1875 · 200 ft
- Grace A. ChannonCanal schoonerLost 1877 · Collision · 141 ft · site unpublished
1880–1899 11
- PS AlpenaPaddlewheel steamshipLost 1880 · Foundered · 197 ft
- SS MichiganSteamshipLost 1885 · Foundered · 204 ft
- SS Selah ChamberlainLake freighterLost 1886 · Collision · 212 ft · NRHP
- SS VernonPassenger and package freighterLost 1887 · Foundered · 159 ft
- SS W.H. GilcherBulk carrierLost 1892 · Foundered · 302 ft · site unpublished
- Margaret A. MuirSchoonerLost 1893 · Foundered · 129 ft · site unpublished
- SS ChicoraPassenger-cargoLost 1895 · Foundered · 200 ft · site unpublished
- SS J. M. AllmendingerSteam bargeLost 1895 · 104 ft · NRHP
- SS AustralasiaBulk FreighterLost 1896 · Fire · 285 ft · NRHP
- SS L.R. DotyLost 1898 · Foundered · 312 ft
- SS John V. MoranPackage freighterLost 1899 · Foundered · 214 ft
1900–1929 19
- SS Erie L. HackleySteam screwLost 1903 · Foundered · 79 ft
- SS Walter L. FrostPackage freighterLost 1903 · Stranded · 250 ft
- Tennie and LauraScow Schooner - FreighterLost 1903 · Foundered · 73 ft · NRHP
- R. J. HackettGreat Lakes freighterLost 1905 · Foundered · 208 ft · NRHP
- SS AppomattoxBulk FreighterLost 1905 · Stranded · 330 ft · NRHP
- SS EastlandPassenger shipLost 1905 · 265 ft
- SS AtlantaSteamshipLost 1906 · 172 ft · NRHP
- SS S. C. BaldwinSteam bargeLost 1908 · Foundered · 160 ft · NRHP
- SS Francis HintonSteam bargeLost 1909 · 152 ft · NRHP
- SS Pere Marquette 18Train ferryLost 1910 · Foundered · 350 ft
- Rouse SimmonsThree-masted schoonerLost 1912 · Foundered · 124 ft · NRHP
- PlymouthCargo Steamer/Schooner bargeLost 1913 · Foundered · 213 ft · site unpublished
- SM UC-97Type UC III submarineLost 1921 · Foundered · 185 ft · site unpublished
- Robert C. PringleTugboatLost 1922 · Foundered · 101 ft · NRHP
- SS LakelandBulk FreighterLost 1924 · Foundered · 301 ft · NRHP
- RosincoPatrol vesselLost 1928 · Foundered · 95 ft · NRHP
- SS AndasteLost 1929 · Foundered · 267 ft · site unpublished
- SS Milwaukee (1929)Train ferryLost 1929 · Foundered · 338 ft · NRHP
- SS SenatorBulk freighterLost 1929 · Collision · 410 ft · NRHP
1930–1959 7
- ArcticTugboatLost 1930 · 64 ft · NRHP
- Our SonSchoonerLost 1930 · Foundered · site unpublished
- SS Henry CortWhaleback FreighterLost 1934 · Stranded · 320 ft
- SS NovadocGreat Lakes freighterLost 1940 · Foundered · 253 ft
- SS William B. DavockConventional dry bulk lake freighterLost 1940 · Foundered · 420 ft
- MV Prins Willem VGeneral cargo shipLost 1954 · Collision · 258 ft · site unpublished
- SS Carl D. BradleySelf-unloading lake freighterLost 1958 · Foundered · 639 ft
1960 on 1
- SS Francisco MorazanCargo shipLost 1960 · 234 ft
Year not recorded 10
- F. J. KingSchoonerFoundered · 144 ft · NRHP
- MV Material ServicePowered barge240 ft · NRHP
- SS Anna C. MinchBulk freighter380 ft
- SS CayugaPackage freighterCollision · 309 ft
- SS HippocampusPassenger and package freighterFoundered · 90 ft · site unpublished
- SS IronsidesPackage freighterFoundered · 231 ft
- SS Jarvis LordLake freighterFoundered · 178 ft
- SS Lac La BellePackage freighterFoundered · 218 ft
- SS Milwaukee (b. 1868)Canaller (1868–1883)Collision · 136 ft
- United States lightship LV-57Lightvessel90 ft · NRHP
Beyond the wrecks
More on Lake Michigan
How many shipwrecks are in Lake Michigan?
This directory lists 59 Lake Michigan wrecks that have a documented history: a named vessel with its record. The lake holds far more. Historians count losses on the Great Lakes in the thousands, and most of them are small vessels with no published record or a wreck site nobody has found.
What is the oldest shipwreck in Lake Michigan?
By year of loss, the earliest in this directory are Le Griffon (1679), SS Phoenix (1847), Gallinipper (1851). Older losses happened; these are the earliest with a documented vessel record.
When were the most ships lost on Lake Michigan?
Among the wrecks listed here, the 1900s count the most: 9. Wooden sail and early steam, heavy traffic and no weather forecasting made the late nineteenth century the worst run on every lake.
Can you dive Lake Michigan shipwrecks?
Many, yes. Wreck sites on the U.S. side generally belong to the state, and removing anything from them is illegal. Cold water, depth and poor visibility make most of them technical dives. Read the visiting notes on our shipwreck index before you plan one.
Vessel facts from the infoboxes of English Wikipedia articles in its “Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan” category, retrieved 2026-10-11; National Register references link to NPS NPGallery. Shoreline from Natural Earth (public domain). Charts are not for navigation. Corrections to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.