Scientists have finally located the wreck of the F.J. King, a schooner that went down in a fierce storm 139 years ago in Lake Michigan.
The discovery was announced by the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association and the Wisconsin Historical Society, who confirmed that a team led by Brendon Baillod found the so-called “ghost ship” on June 28.
The wreck was located off Bailey’s Harbor, a small coastal community of about 300 residents on the Door County peninsula.
Built in 1867, the F.J. King was a 140-foot cargo schooner designed to transport iron ore and grain.
In September 1886, while transporting ores from Michigan to Chicago, the vessel was caught in a large storm.
Hit by massive waves that split her seams, the ship ultimately sank bow-first around 2 a.m. Despite Captain William Griffin’s efforts to save her, the crew was forced to abandon ship and was rescued by a passing sguo, which brought them to Bailey’s Harbor.
Since the 1970s, numerous attempts have been made to locate the wreck, but conflicting reports made the search difficult.
Griffin estimated the F.J. King went down about five miles off Bailey’s Harbor, while a lighthouse worker recalled seeing the ship break apart closer to shore.
Over the years, fishermen also claimed to have hauled up fragments of the vessel in their nets.
Despite countless searches, the wreck remained elusive for years, which is why many shipwreck hunters have referred to it as a “ghost ship”.
Because of the darkness on that fateful night, Baillod believed Captain Griffin may have misjudged his position when the F.J. King went down.
Relying instead on the lighthouse keeper’s account, he plotted a two–square–mile search grid and began scanning the area.
Using side-scan sonar, he eventually detected a 140-foot-long object less than half a mile from the lighthouse.
It was the F.J. King.
Baillod and his team were astonished by how quickly they located the wreck.
The discovery marks the fifth wreck identified by the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association in just three years.
Earlier this year, the group also located the tugboat John Evenson off Algoma, Wisconsin, and the steamer L.W. Crane in the Fox River at Oshkosh.
According to the Wisconsin Water Library, the Great Lakes may hold between 6,000 and 10,000 shipwrecks, most of which remain undiscovered.
In recent years, the search for these wrecks has become increasingly urgent as invasive mussels are reported to be destroying the wrecks.
