The site of the 1901 Fedora shipwreck in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Lake Superior. (Layne Kennedy / Getty Images)
History buffs have been fascinated by the ancient dugout canoes that have been discovered in Lake Mendota. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin talks to Wisconsin Maritime Archaeologist Tamara Thomsen, who first discovered the historic artifacts. Plus, Bianca and producer Jade Iseri-Ramos talk about a new gift from the Ho-Chunk Nation that will help people learn about dug-out canoes up close.
For all of their majesty, many ships have met their demise in the Great Lakes — experts estimate there have been as many as 10,000 and the vast majority of them remain undiscovered. It’s no wonder there’s so much excitement whenever a new shipwreck is discovered, like the lot of ancient canoes found in Lake Mendota in 2025. Let’s put on our captain hats and dive into some of the most famous shipwrecks found in Wisconsin waterways.
SS Edmund Fitzgerald
The Fitzgerald was built in 1958 and was once the longest ship to navigate the Great Lakes. For three months in 1959, the ship was docked in its homeport of Milwaukee and open to the public while awaiting a steelworker’s strike. It was the only time the Fitzgerald visited Milwaukee before sinking during a severe storm on Nov. 10, 1975. It’s still the most notorious shipwreck in the Great Lakes 50 years later.
The radius around the shipwreck is protected by the Ontario Heritage Act (since it sank on the Canadian Side of the lake) and a number of special archeological permits are required to go near it. It was also immortalized in a namesake song by Gordon Lightfoot.
SS Bannockburn
The vastness of the water makes it difficult to find even the largest ships, and that’s exactly what happened to the 244-foot Canadian freight steamer Bannockburn when it vanished on Nov. 21, 1902 while transporting wheat. The ship is said to have sailed through a crack in the lake and the ghostship lore has only grown into what is now called “The Flying Dutchman of the Great Lakes.”
Gallinipper
The Gallinipper has the distinction of being Wisconsin’s oldest known shipwreck, with ties to the fur trade and early settlement. It was originally built in 1832 as the Nancy Dousman, exchanged ownership a handful of times, and eventually sank near Cleveland, Wisconsin in 1851. Most notably, the vessel did not immediately sink after hitting a storm. Efforts were made to recover it to no avail.
The wreckage was discovered by a commercial fisherman in 1994, but was only confirmed as the Gallinipper in 2009.
Frank D. Barker
Maritime archeologists and scientists aren’t the only ones who find shipwrecks. Boat tour guide Matt Olson discovered a “dark blob” while looking at satellite images of Rowleys Bay in 2025. Olson went to investigate with sonar and a GoPro camera and discovered the remains of a massive vessel. He reported it to the Wisconsin Historical Society and archeologists confirmed the Barker had been found 138 years after its wreckage.
If you, too, get lucky and come across a shipwreck, you can report it to the Wisconsin Historical Society hotline: acheologists@wisconsinhistory.org.
Happy hunting!
