An “elusive” tugboat that sank in Lake Michigan nearly 130 years ago has finally been found by maritime historians who set out on a three-day-mission to solve the mystery of where it went.
The John Evenson, a 54-foot, ten-year-old wood steam tugboat went unseen from its demise on June 5, 1895, until September 13, USA Today reported.
Named after the captain of Milwaukee, Illinois’, U.S. Life-Saving Service Station in the 1870s and ’80s who died at a young age, the John Evenson was assisting another vessel, the I. Watson Stephenson, when it went under.
“The Evenson’s captain ran across the bow of the much larger Stephenson, which struck the tug, capsizing her and sending her immediately to the bottom,” wrote historian Brendon Baillod in a recent report on his findings. “The tug’s five crew were cast into the water and rescued except for the tug’s fireman, Martin Boswell, who was working below deck and was carried down with the vessel and lost.”
Several attempts to find the lost boat over the years proved unsuccessful, with a local dive club even offering a $500 reward for it at one point, according to USA Today.
What was meant to be a multi-day affair was cut short after a “deliberate search using historical records and remote sensing technology” led Baillod and fellow Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association historian Bob Jaeck to finally locate the boat.
The pair found the Evenson while tuning their sonar equipment when a “huge boiler crawled across the screen” after just five minutes, Baillod wrote.
The historians then deployed a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to observe the sunken 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,” Baillod said of the wreckage, which was found off the Wisconsin coast near Algoma.
Another maritime historian, Tamara Thomsen, and diver Zach Whitrock arrived at the scene the next day to see the boat.
“A 3D photogrammetry model was created by capturing over 2000 high resolution images, recording the site in detail. Plans for the site include nominating it to the National Register of Historic Places and making it available for sport divers to visit,” said Baillod.
The Evenson’s discovery makes for the third significant shipwreck found by Baillod and Jaeck in the last two years, as they found the sunken schooners Trinidad and the Margaret A. Muir around the same area of Lake Michigan.
Even with their recent successes in finding other shipwrecks, Baillod and Jaeck said they turned to each other “gobsmacked” when they found the “elusive” Evenson.
“It was almost like the wreck wanted to be found,” Baillod told USA Today.
“It never gets old,” he added. “It’s always exciting.”
