The Wisconsin Historical Society recently announced that The Lookout, a shipwreck off the coast of Wisconsin in Lake Michigan, has officially been added to the National Register of Historic Places. This designation makes it possible for the wreck to qualify for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, among other benefits.
According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the schooner was constructed in 1855 and used in the coal, lumber and grain trades in the Great Lakes. It reportedly went down in 1897. As one of the very few pre-Civil War schooners off the coast of Wisconsin, The Lookout has provided historians with a greater understanding of construction techniques from the era — especially since written records were rarely kept on the construction of 19th-century wooden vessels.
For years, The Lookout remained buried in the sands of Lake Michigan. It was only uncovered in 2015. As part of the list of Historic Places, the shipwreck is protected by state and federal laws.
For more information, visit wisconsinshipwrecks.org.
