Tugboat that sank in 1895 found in Lake Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Shipwreck hunters on the other side of Lake Michigan have found a long-lost tugboat that went down nearly 130 years ago.

The Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association has announced it has located the John Evenson , a 54-foot tugboat that sunk in June 1895 while assisting a steamer entering Sturgeon Bay.

According to the WUAA, the ship’s captain says the Evenson ran across the bow of the I. Watson Stephenson, the much larger ship that they were helping. The Evenson capsized immediately after the collision. Four of the Evenson’s five crewmen were rescued by the Stephenson, but the boat’s fireman, who was working below deck, went down with the ship.

Searches for the remnants of the Evenson started in the 1980s but were unsuccessful. Historians Brendon Baillod and Bob Jacek recently turned their attention to the Evenson and started poring over historical records and news reports to look for clues.

“They plotted all the locations given and noticed that a few clustered in the same small area as that given in the wreck report, approximately 4 miles northeast of Algoma, Wisconsin,” the WUAA said in a news release .

The two historians and their crew set out on Sept. 13 for what they thought would be a three-day search. But they found the ship’s boiler within five minutes of deploying their remote sensing equipment.

“They deployed a remote-operated vehicle which immediately descended on the ship’s giant propeller, steam engine and boiler. The tug’s hull bed is present along with all of her machinery, giving a fascinating look at the steam technology of the late 1800s,” the WUAA stated.

The historians contacted Wisconsin State Underwater Archeologist Tamara Thomsen who came out the next day with a diver to survey and document the findings.

The WUAA says the Evenson is the third notable shipwreck that Baillod and Jacek have found in the last two years.

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