The Peoria, a ship that wrecked in Door County in 1901, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo courtesy: Wisconsin Historical Society)
DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A ship that sank in Door County more than 120 years ago is now part of the National Register of Historic Places.
According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Peoria — a schooner built in Ohio in 1854 — operated in the Great Lakes for nearly 50 years in the grain, lumber and other bulk cargo trades.
In late 1901, as the vessel was traveling from Charlevoix, Michigan with a cargo of hardwood lumber, the crew attempted to wait out a storm in Baileys Harbor. However, the anchors slipped during the night.
The storm pushed the schooner into shallow water in front of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights, settling into the sand quickly. Men from the Baileys Harbor Life-Saving Station rescued the crew of six, but the vessel remained stuck. No insurance was carried on the ship, and it was valued at only $2,000. The cargo was salvaged, the vessel was stripped, and rendered a total loss. The vessel sits upright and largely intact on the sandy lake bottom, seven feet below the surface in Lake Michigan.
The Peoria is located just over 0.15 miles northeast of the Baileys Harbor marina entrance.
Most of the ship’s hull components are still there, providing historians and archaeologists a rare opportunity to study early wooden schooner construction.
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