Elusive shipwreck found in Lake Michigan over 100 years after sinking
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A “ghost ship” that sank in Lake Michigan nearly 140 years ago and eluded several search efforts over the past five decades has been found, according to researchers with the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association.
The wooden schooner got caught in a storm in the dead of night and went down in September 1886. In the weeks after, a lighthouse keeper reported the ship’s masts breaking the lake surface, and fishermen caught pieces of the vessel in their nets. Still, wreck hunters were unable to track down the ship’s location — until now.
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Earlier this year, a team of researchers with the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association and Wisconsin Historical Society located the shipwreck off the coastal town of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, the association announced on Sunday.
Named the F.J. King, the ship had become a legend within the Wisconsin wreck hunter community for its elusive nature, said maritime historian Brendon Baillod, principal investigator and project lead of the discovery.
“We really wanted to solve this mystery, and we didn’t expect to,” Baillod told CNN. “(The ship) seemed to have just vanished into thin air. … I actually couldn’t believe we found it.”
The wreck is just one of many that have been found in the Great Lakes in recent years, and there are still hundreds left to be recovered in Lake Michigan alone, according to Baillod.
The ‘ghost ship’
Built in 1867, the F.J. King plied the waters of the Great Lakes for the purpose of trans-lake commerce. The ship transported grains during a time when Wisconsin served as the breadbasket of the United States. The 144-foot-long (44-meter) vessel also carried cargo including iron ore, lumber and more.
The ship had a lucrative 19-year career until that September night when a gale-force wind caused its seams to break apart, according to the announcement. The captain, William Griffin, ordered the crew to evacuate on the ship’s yawl boat, from where they watched the F.J. King sink, bow first.
Sep 28, 2025
