Identification & Site Information

  • Name: City of Sturgeon Bay
  • Year built: 1883
  • Type: Wooden single-Deck screw Steamer (local vessel configuration)
  • Built at: Likely Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
  • Final loss date: 8 October 1892
  • Loss location: Ashore in Michigan—blown off anchorage (possibly near Escanaba) and wrecked
  • Context note: May have been serving as a Lightship at Escanaba when lost

Vessel Type

A mid‑to‑late-19th-century steam vessel—likely used regionally for trade or Lightship duties. Its construction suggests a small, durable Hull suitable for working harbours and anchorages rather than long hauls.

Description

No detailed records of dimensions or tonnage survive. As a single-Deck wooden Steamer equipped for stationary service (Lightship), it probably featured modest engine and accommodation spaces and retained minimal piloting structure.

History & Chronology

  • 1883: Vessel built—records identify her as the City of Sturgeon Bay
  • By 1892: Serving possibly as a Lightship around Escanaba, MI, to aid navigation and mark hazards
  • 8 October 1892: Severe gale or storm drove her from anchorage; vessel was grounded and wrecked ashore

Final Disposition

The vessel was wrecked and Abandoned. No records indicate salvage or removal, and she likely broke apart from exposure

Located By & Date Found

No formal wreck surveys or rediscovery efforts recorded. The remains, if any survive, are likely heavily deteriorated timber remnants along the shore.

NOTMARs & Advisories

No modern navigational hazards noted, as the wreck predated hardened charting and does not present a submerged hazard today.

Resources & Links

  • Brief mention in Steamboat Era in the Muskokas (Tatley) and 19th-century Great Lakes vessel logs (Baut’s records)
  • Regional newspaper accounts (1992 retrospectives) reference the gale-driven wreck near Escanaba

Shore Dive & Survey Information

Not applicable. The vessel was beached on land and wrecked ashore; no submerged dive site remains.

Conclusion

The City of Sturgeon Bay likely served as a floating navigational aid before being lost in a storm that swept her ashore in October 1892. Though scant details remain, the incident underlines the vulnerability of lightships to severe weather and represents a lesser-known narrative in Great Lakes maritime operations. Today, it lives on as a footnote in lighthouse and station histories.

Keywords

  • Wooden steam Lightship
  • Gale wrecked ashore
  • Escanaba maritime navigation
  • 1892 vessel loss