DOOR COUNTY, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Jennibel Shipwreck in the National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 2026. The schooner is located in Lake Michigan near the Town of Gibraltar, in Door County.

The schooner Jennibel is located in over 100 feet of water. The vessel was built in 1863 at the Stoakes & Locklin shipyard in Manitowoc. It operated in the Great Lakes lumber trade, and to a lesser extent, in other bulk cargo trades throughout its career. Jennibel experienced groundings and collisions which required repair. Despite the repairs, its ship lines remained the same throughout its service history.

On the morning of September 17, 1881, Jennibel was sailing through Deaths Door Passage with a load of green lumber and tan bark from Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, bound for Milwaukee, when a gale struck suddenly and the ship capsized. The tug John Gregory came to its aid, took the crew aboard and the vessel in tow toward Sturgeon Bay. While off Chambers Island, the ship settled and sank. Although salvage attempts were made to recover the ship, it was ultimately abandoned. The vessel was valued at $2,500 but did not have any insurance.

The Jennibel shipwreck site was documented by Wisconsin Historical Society maritime archaeologists and volunteers in June 2025. The site has already produced a wealth of archaeological information and has the potential to yield additional important archaeological data in the future. On the lakebed, it sits upright with the cabin framing, windlass, bilge pump, centerboard winch, cargo, and rudder on the site. The hull structure remains intact with the hull components extant except the ship’s wheel, anchors and spars. More components may remain hidden within the hull or scattered on the surrounding bottomland.

State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structures when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing, or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. More information on Wisconsin’s historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Shipwrecks website: Wisconsin Shipwrecks.

Additional information about the Jennibel Shipwreck is available.

Learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin.

About the 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.