''Christina Nilsson'' was a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

that sank in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

off

Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin Baileys Harbor is a town in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,003 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Peninsula Center is located in the town. The census-designated place of Baileys Harbor is also l ...

, on October 23, 1884. In 2003, the

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

The ship was built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, at a cost of $23,000 and was named after

Christina Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice (B3-F6), first three then two and a ha ...

. On October 23, 1884, ''Christina Nilsson'' cleared

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County, Michigan, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The popu ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, bound for

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, with a cargo of

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

. When a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

hit the area that day, her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

attempted to make port at Baileys Harbor, but, while still trying to navigate through the storm, ''Christina Nilsson'' struck a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

off Baileys Harbor and foundered. All crew members survived. The ship's cargo was recovered, but attempts to salvage ''Christina Nilsson'' herself were unsuccessful. The wreck site has been investigated by the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

and the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association since 1997. In June 2025, the

confirmed the wreck previously identified as ''Christina Nilsson'' to be that of a different vessel, the schooner ''Joseph Cochrane'', lost in 1870.

References

External links

Shipwrecks in Baileys Harbor with Russel Leiz
by the Baileys Harbor Historical Society, ''Sevestopol TV'', June 7, 2012 {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Christina Nilsson'' (shipwreck) 1880s ships Ships built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Shipwrecks of the Wisconsin coast Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan Maritime incidents in October 1884 National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin Wreck diving sites in the United States Gilded Age