Shipwreck recovered at bottom of Lake Michigan 130 years after it sank with ‘faithful dog’ on board

Tamara Thomsen, State Historical Society of Wisconsin

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Underwater archeologists found a 130-year-old ship at the bottom of Lake Michigan that went down with the captain’s beloved dog on board.

Shipwreck hunters with the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association found the Margaret A. Muir schooner two months ago using sonar technology. The ship has since broken apart, but some components remained intact, including all its deck gear, two anchors and its bow windlass - a mechanical device used to pull anchors up, according to a news release from the association.

The ship sank on September 30, 1893. Captain David Clow, his dog and the crew were on board when the ship encountered a devastating storm and water began filling its hold.

The Margaret A. Muir schooner, pictured, was found at the bottom of Lake Michigan in May (Tamara Thomsen, State Historical Society of Wisconsin)

Clow ordered the crew to evacuate – but not before tragedy struck.

“No sooner than the order was given, the ship lurched violently and plunged for the bottom, taking Captain Clow’s faithful dog and ship’s mascot with it,” the association said.

The captain and the rest of his crew survived.

“The lifeboat filled with water as soon as it was launched and was only kept afloat with much bailing as the men pulled for the harbor lights through 15-foot seas,” the association said.

After losing his unnamed dog, Clow said he was quitting sailing. Clow described his dog as “an intelligent and faithful animal, and a great favorite with the captain and crew.”

“I would rather lose any sum of money than to have the brute perish as he did,” Clow said at the time, according to the association.

A diver from the Wisconsin Historical Society pictured collecting photos for a 3D model of the ship. The Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association has been looking for the ship since 2023 (Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society)

The association has been searching for the vessel since 2023. Kevin Cullen, executive director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, and his team of shipwreck hunters found the vessel late in the day on May 12. Cullen told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he remembers thinking, “This is it, this is really it!”

“This is what shipwreck hunting in Wisconsin is about,” he told the outlet.

The organization is now working with the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Archeology Program to add the shipwreck to the National Register of Historic Places.