06/17/2026
Welcome back to another ! Today we are featuring Wisconsin’s oldest known shipwreck, the schooner GALLINIPPER!
GALLINIPPER was originally built in 1833 as the two-masted schooner NANCY DOUSMAN in Black River, Ohio for Michael Dousman, of the well-known Wisconsin Dousman family. The vessel was named for Michael Dousman’s daughter, Nancy. The vessel operated out of Milwaukee, carrying passengers, trade goods, furs, and other freight between eastern ports and Milwaukee until 1840, when Michael Dousman sold his share in the vessel.
In 1846, the vessel was rebuilt and lengthened in Milwaukee to increase its cargo carrying capacity, and relaunched with the name GALLINIPPER. Although the vessel was lengthened by 26 feet, it was not widened, making it prone to heeling over in waves when the vessel was riding light. After its relaunch, GALLINIPPER operated in the wheat and lumber trades, carrying cargos on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The vessel sailed for another five years, changing owners a few times, until July 1851.
On July 7, 1851, while heading north to Bay du Noc, Michigan for a cargo of lumber, GALLINIPPER was hit by a sudden squall north of Sheboygan. Heavy waves caused the light vessel to capsize, but it was able to right itself initially, however, the wind and waves continued to increase, eventually pushing the vessel over a second time. This time GALLINIPPER was unable to right itself and it began to fill with water and founder. Nine crewmembers were aboard at the time, all of which were saved by a passing vessel.
Today, GALLINIPPER sits upright in 210 ft of water, 9.5 miles east of Cleveland, Wisconsin. In the early 1990s, the vessel’s foremast was detached and pulled to the surface by a snagged fishing net and is now on display at Rogers Street Fishing Village in Two Rivers. The vessel’s mainmast still remains on the wreck, pitched forward at an angle over the vessel’s bow. Other than a missing cargo hatch, the rest of the vessel is in remarkable condition due to the cold, deep, dark water. GALLINIPPER was documented by maritime archaeologists and volunteers from the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2009, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. In Aug 2024, a Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary mooring buoy was installed at GALLINIPPER’s wreck site!
(Historical research and archaeological information compiled by our partners at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Maritime Archaeology and Preservation Program)
[image captions: an image of a diver swimming near GALLINIPPER's bow (Becky Kagan Schott), two sonar images of GALLINIPPER (University of Delaware) (NOAA), an underwater image of GALLINIPPER's stern (Hibbard, Inshore), an image of a diver near the GALLINIPPER buoy (NOAA)]
