The ''Moonlight'' 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 Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

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 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 ...

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 spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

, ''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 f ...

from Ashland,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. 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 * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

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