A Wisconsin boater with a passion for uncovering sunken wrecks through satellite images made an exciting discovery this summer—a ship that had vanished off the coast of Lake Michigan almost 140 years ago.
Matt Olson, who runs Door County Adventure Rafting, was examining pictures of the lake when he identified what is now confirmed to be the Frank D. Barker, a 137-foot ship constructed in 1867.
Back in 1887, this grain transport merchant ship was en route to Escanaba, Michigan, when fierce weather hit, causing it to be stranded near Spider Island.
Attempts to rescue the vessel were unsuccessful, and it sank to a depth of only 24 feet, remaining unseen until Olson’s observant inspection finally revealed it over a century later.
Despite its shallow resting place, its discovery was delayed likely because initial reports mistakenly located it closer to Spider Island than where it actually was.
Olson remarked, “When we positioned our boat above it, we could just barely glimpse it from the surface, so it was surprising that it hadn’t been spotted before,” he told FOX 53.
Olson, who has already discovered four other shipwrecks, told Daily Mail that parallel lines in the water are something to look for.
‘It’s an incredible feeling to come across a shipwreck of this size and in such great condition, especially knowing how long it went undetected,’ Olson said.
Pictured: A diver with the Wisconsin Historical Society inspects the wreckage of the long-lost Frank D. Barker, a 137-foot vessel built in 1867
The ship, which was discovered by Matt Olson this summer, sunk in 1887 after running into serious fog, causing the crew to crash into a limestone outcropping
‘I am honored to play a role in bringing this history to light so folks can better understand Wisconsin’s maritime history.’
After Olson found the shipwreck, he turned the coordinates over to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Maritime archaeologists with the historical society conducted several diving missions and figured out that the ship was in fact the Frank D. Barker.
The wooden ship had two masts and frequently carried grain from ports in Milwaukee and Chicago to Lake Ontario, according to the historical society. When it returned west, it brought coal from Lake Erie.
On its final voyage, the ship was on its way to collect a load of iron ore when it ran into a limestone outcropping during bad fog.
‘It was running light, it had no cargo, so it was sitting very high in the water and it got blown over this shoal that’s on the end of Spider Island,’ Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Archaeologist Tamara Thomsen said.
Olson did a snorkeling trip with his water-loving children and wife who are keen also explorers to check out if his satellite imagery was correct
After it sunk, the Frank D. Barker was declared a total loss and was valued at $8,000 at the time, nearly $250,000 in today’s money
The ship’s captain and the crew were stuck on Spider Island until a tugboat named Spalding was dispatched the following day.
Spalding was unable to pull the ship out. Five more recovery missions were launched over the next year, all of which were unsuccessful.
The Frank D. Barker was declared a total loss and was valued at $8,000 at the time, nearly $250,000 in today’s money.
The Wisconsin Historical Society emphasized that the Frank D. Barker wreck is protected by state and federal law, and that anyone who attempts to loot or destroy the ship’s artifacts will be prosecuted.
