Shipwreck · Lake Michigan · Stranded
SS Appomattox
A bulk Freighter built in 1896, lost on Lake Michigan in 1905. The record: “Ran aground on a reef on Lake Michigan.” The wreck is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The vessel
On the record
- Type
- Bulk Freighter
- Builder
- James Davidson
- Completed
- 1896
- Length
- 330 ft (101 m)
- Beam
- 42 ft (13 m)
- Tonnage
- 2643 GRT; 2082 NRT
- Propulsion
- 1.100 horsepower triple expansion steam engine
- Fate
- Ran aground on a reef on Lake Michigan
- Wreck site
- 150 yd off Atwater Beach in the village of Shorewood, Wisconsin
- National Register
- Listed January 20, 2005 · ref. 04001547
- Lake
- Lake Michigan
- Coordinates
- 43.0936° N, 87.8662° W
The same year
Also lost in 1905
- SS William EdenbornErie · foundered
- MinnedosaHuron · foundered
- SS EtruriaHuron · collision
- SS KaliyugaHuron · foundered
- R. J. HackettMichigan · foundered
- SS EastlandMichigan
- AmboySuperior · stranded
- MadeiraSuperior · foundered
- NoquebaySuperior · fire
- SevonaSuperior · foundered
The same decade
Michigan losses of the 1900s
- SS Atlanta1906
- SS Erie L. Hackley1903 · foundered
- SS Francis Hinton1909
- SS S. C. Baldwin1908 · foundered
- SS Walter L. Frost1903 · stranded
- Tennie and Laura1903 · foundered
On the bottom nearby
Nearest Michigan wrecks
- SS Milwaukee (1929)3.4 mi · lost 1929
- United States lightship LV-576.4 mi
- SS J. M. Allmendinger8.7 mi · lost 1895
- Niagara (1856)10 mi · lost 1856
- Tennie and Laura14 mi · lost 1903
- Northerner15 mi · lost 1868
Straight-line distance between published positions.
By boat
Closest launches
- McKinley Park Marina3.0 mi
- River Front Launching Site5.1 mi
- South Shore Park Boat Ramp6.8 mi
- Bender Park Boat Launch16 mi
On the horizon
Nearest lights
- North Point Light2.0 mi
- Milwaukee Breakwater Light4.7 mi
- Milwaukee Pierhead Light4.9 mi
Source
Vessel facts on this page come from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article SS Appomattox, retrieved 2026-10-11. We print the fields as recorded and add nothing; a missing field means the record is silent. Tonnage and dimensions were often measured more than one way in their day, so they can differ between sources.
Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.