The ''Moonlight'' was a

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

that sank in

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

off the coast of Michigan Island. The wreckage site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2008.

History

''Moonlight'' was built in 1874. In addition to service in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, ''Moonlight'' also sailed in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1894 she was involved in an accident with ''SS Ohio'' which was sunk. She sank in September 1903 in a storm while hauling

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

from Ashland,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In use as a tow barge, ''Moonlight'' was under tow by the steamer ''Volunteer''. Both ships were loaded with iron ore in Ashland and were headed for their destination when a violent storm erupted and ruptured the seams of ''Moonlights

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

References

External links

Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin 1874 ships Shipwrecks of Lake Superior Schooner barges National Register of Historic Places in Ashland County, Wisconsin Ships built in Milwaukee Schooners of the United States Shipwreck discoveries by Jerry Eliason, Ken Merryman and Kraig Smith {{Wisconsin-NRHP-stub