The Ships: Noquebay

The Noquebay (1) (pronounced "NAHK-bay") a modified schooner-barge (2)

was built in 1872 by Trenton, Michigan, shipbuilder Alvin A. Turner. Entirely built of wood, it was large enough to carry 1,024,000 board feet of lumber, the Noquebay had a square stern, plain bow, and two short masts. 205.16' long, 34.58' wide, and had a hold depth of 12.42'.  Its gross tonnage was 684.39. It was first enrolled (US 18747) in Chicago on 13 Jul 1872.  The Noquebay was worth $23,000 in 1876.

In May of 1895 the Noquebay was purchased along with the Mautenee for $12,000. (2 May 1895 The Marine Reord p3)  

On 30 Sep 1895 she struck break-water and sank near Eire, Pennsylvania.  She was again raised and repaired and in the ensuing years it mainly traveled the route between Ashland, Wisconsin and Buffalo, NY.  She wintered in 1896 in Milwaukee (Door County Advocate  26 Dec 1896)

From 1899 to 1902 the Captain of the Noquebay was Patrick H. Ryan.

1901 May 31 Noquebay with 1080000 ft of lumber tow line broke and ran into Canadian shore .  filled with water and tuned on side.  Niagara River Buffalo Times 31 May 1901 p10 c2-3 

Andrew Bigger, previously captain of the Mautenee, took the helm in 1903.  In 1904 the Noquebay had a crew of 6.

On 9 Oct 1905(3) the Noquebay and her sister ship the Mautenee left Bayfield bound for Bay City Michigan in the tow of  the steamer Lizzie Madden.  The Noquebay was loaded with 600,000 board feet of hemlock that had been loaded by the Comstock and Wilcox Co. of Ashland, WI.  The vessels were about twenty miles NE of Bayfield when a fire broke out in the forward area, near the donkey boiler(4), of the Noquebay while the crew was at lunch.  By the time the fire was discovered the fire was out of hand.  The Lizzie Madden headed to Stockton Island and beached the ship.  The crew managed to heave about 1/3 of the lumber overboard before abandoning the ship and sailing on with the Lizzie Madden.

Captain C.H. Flynn on the tug Fashion (of Duluth) recovered anchors and lumber, but the Noquebay was beyond repair and left where she had sunk.  The schooner-barge, owned by the T.F. Madden estate, was in disrepair by this time and worth only about $7000.  Unfortunately, it was under-insured for just $3000.

Today, the Noquebay lies broken and shattered just offshore on a coarse
sand bottom. The wreckage field is approximately 230 feet long in a north-south direction, and nearly 125 feet wide, covering approximately 2/3 of an acre.  Aerial vies show large sections of the hull. The bow has broken away and lies with its port side up, largely buried in the sand. Small artifacts such as nails, a cast-iron pot, pipes and fittings, tackle blocks, wire rope, a wood auger, a mooring bitt, jib hanks, coal, small pieces of burned wood and a boiler grate are scattered around the site.  There are three major pieces of machinery at the site: A donkey boiler lies near the bow, pieces of a windlass are nearby, and the ship's steering wheel lies partially exposed.

The ship's bell can be viewed at the visitor's center on Stockton Island.

The wreckage site (N46° 55.568'  W90° 32.717') was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, and is a popular site for sports diving.



You can learn more about the Noquebay's history and archeological findings in

• Submerged Cultural Resources Site Report: Noquebay by Toni Carrell, Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, National Park Service, 1985 
• Diver's Guide to Wisconsin by Steve Harrington with David J. Cooper, Maritime Press, 1991. 
• The Unholy Apostles: Shipwreck Tales of the Apostle Islands by James M. Keller, Miami: James Keller 2004
• Namesakes 1900-1909-An Era Begins by John O. Greenwood, Cleveland: Finishwater Press 1987 p.311
• Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks 
• Pictures of the wreckage 
• Wisconsin's Maritime Trails 
• Diving in Apostle Islands National Park  
• Great Lakes Maritime Personnel Index - Bowling Green State University
• Great Lakes Vessels Online Index 

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1. Algonquin "barefoot" - Chippewa "Chief of the Western Regions" - A Lake surrounded by lumber stands in Wisconsin.
2. A schooner-barge is a modified schooner created to haul cargo through hard to navigate channels where winds could be a problem.  Smaller than usual sails could be used to provide power when the wind was favorable or if the vessel broke free of its tow. The smaller sails requred fewer crew members to handle them.  Schooner-barges were generally towed by steamers and often in tandem with other schooner-barges or barges.  
3. Sources give various dates for the fire, I believe that the report in the Bay City paper of 10 Oct 1905 stating that the fire was yesterday is the most likely to be right, therefore have adopted the 9 Oct 1905 date. 
4. A small auxiliary steam engine used for hoisting or pumping on board.

Thank you to Chuck Madden and John Madden for pictures and information on the Madden Ships