Long-sought Frank D. Barker sank in 1887, located by local boater
DOOR COUNTY, Wis. – Another exciting shipwreck discovery emerged in Lake Michigan this summer after a local boater exploring off Door County’s coast noticed something unexpected in the water. Matt Olson, owner of Door County Adventure Rafting, was scouting for sites to take his customers near Rowleys Bay when he caught sight of a submerged shipwreck. After reporting the find to the State Historic Preservation Office, maritime archaeologists with the Wisconsin Historical Society conducted follow up diving missions that revealed the vessel is the long-lost Frank D. Barker, constructed in 1867 and sunk in 1887 after running upon a limestone outcropping amid foggy conditions.
The Frank D. Barker was bound for Escanaba, Michigan, to collect a load of iron ore when bad weather caused the two-masted, 137-foot-long vessel to run off course. The ship’s captain and crew struggled to correct course but ultimately became stranded on nearby Spider Island until weather conditions improved. A tugboat called Spalding was dispatched the following day to attempt recovery of the Frank D. Barker but was unsuccessful. A later salvage mission in October 1887 and again in June, August, September and October of 1888 also failed, causing a total loss of the vessel valued around $8,000 at the time—over $250,000 in today’s dollars.
“Whenever we receive this type of call, it’s hard to know exactly what we will find. We were excited to identify the wreck as the Frank D. Barker, whose exact location has been lost for over a century.” said Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologist. “We are grateful for Matt Olson’s keen sense of observation and quick reporting of the discovery so we can document this chapter of Wisconsin’s storied maritime history.”
Olson, a Door County local who grew up hunting for shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, is no stranger to maritime discoveries and reported a different shipwreck to the Wisconsin Historical Society just last year that turned out to be the Grey Eagle, a schooner built in 1857 that sank in 1869. Olson was also responsible for locating the Sunshine, a scow schooner that was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. His love for maritime exploration only grew after a childhood spent on the water, and he channeled his passion into his adventure boating business along with a second business designing custom surfboards. “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. I am honored to play a role in bringing this history to light so folks can better understand Wisconsin’s maritime history,” he said.
The Frank D. Barker is constructed of wood and was built by Simon G. Johnson in Clayton, New York. It is a unique vessel type to the Great Lakes and was specially designed for transporting grain from ports in Milwaukee and Chicago to Lake Ontario. On its return trip west, it brought coal from ports on Lake Erie that would be used to fuel factories and heat homes of the Midwest. With a canaller hull type, it was specially designed in shape and size to maximize cargo while still fitting the locks of the second generation of the Welland Canal, a route bypassing Niagara Falls. The vessel’s hull was boxy with a broad and upright bow, and any overhanging features such as its jibboom, davits and anchor-supporting catheads were designed to pivot upward—like a transformer—to allow the vessel to fit through narrow and shallow locks.
The ship was traveling from Manistee, Michigan when it sank and now lies flattened under about 24 feet of water between two arms of Barker Shoal, a landmark thought to be the namesake of the long-lost vessel. Historical newspaper accounts placed the shipwreck closer to Spider Island, which likely played a role in unsuccessful previous attempts to pinpoint its exact location.
The Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeology team is working to allocate project funds for an archaeological survey next year to further document and record the wreck site, which would allow it to be eligible for future listing to the National Register of Historic Places. Information about the shipwreck will also be added to Wisconsin Shipwrecks, an interactive website documenting Wisconsin’s shipwrecks and comanaged by the Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Preservation Program and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute.
State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing, or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime.
About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active, and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
