Divers have located the wreck of the Lac La Belle, a luxury steamer that vanished in a violent gale in 1872, a discovery that came after nearly six decades of organized searching. //
The Lac La Belle left Milwaukee on October 13, 1872, bound for Grand Haven, Michigan. Captain William Gilcher commanded the ship that, along with passengers, carried barley, pork, flour, and whiskey.
A gale caused massive waves that battered the hull. A quickly spreading leak filled the hold, and when the pumps failed, the vessel sank stern-first into about 300 feet of water. //
Luke Warm
a day ago
I left Marquette Mi. the day the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost. My sister who lived there recommended I check out Presque Isle on my way back. I thought I was about to die. My car looked like it survived a roller over. The waves kept pushing me into the rocks, and the retreating waves trying to suck me into Superior. The Mackinaw bridge closed less than an hr after I crossed it heading south. The bridge looked like to world's biggest swing. I learned very quickly that you do not steer when the road your on is swinging. //
Shadd
20 hours ago
I've been to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, up at Whitefish Point, MI. It's about 45 mins north of the Mackinac Bridge. I highly recommend it. //
Hank Reardon
16 hours ago
Readers interested in Great Lakes shipping and shipwreck history might also be interested in visiting the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center at Thunder Bay, Michigan.
https://thunderbay.noaa.gov/visit/great-lakes-maritime-heritage-center.html
Also, unrelated to Great Lakes shipwrecks but equally fascinating is the display of cargo from the 1865 wreck of the Missouri river steamboat Bertrand, discovered in 1968. The large amount of freight bound for the goldfields of Montana captures a snapshot of life in America and is meticulously displayed at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, on the Missouri River north of Omaha.
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/desoto/steamboat-bertrand