Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
kara.okeeffe@wisconsinhistory.org
608-261-9596
Cedar Grove, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Atlanta Shipwreck in the vicinity of Cedar Grove, Sheboygan County, in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.
The Atlanta, a double-decked passenger steamer, was originally constructed by the Cleveland Dry Dock Company in 1891 specifically for the passenger and package freight trades. The study of this shipwreck has increased our understanding of early Great Lakes steamer construction and has broadened our knowledge of Wisconsin’s early maritime passenger transportation system, part of the transportation infrastructure prior to the development of road and rail networks. Further, this site may provide more information through future study.
The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.
State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this shipwreck site. Removing, defacing, displacing or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. More information on Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org.
About 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.
