A shipwreck that vanished nearly 140 years ago in Lake Michigan has finally been discovered, ending decades of mystery, according to the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association.
The vessel, a wooden schooner named the F.J. King, sank during a fierce storm in September 1886.
Though a lighthouse keeper at the time reported seeing its masts sticking above the lake’s surface, and fishermen occasionally hauled pieces of the wreckage in their nets, repeated search efforts over the past 50 years turned up nothing, until now.
Earlier in 2025, a team from the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association, working with the Wisconsin Historical Society, located the wreck near Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, the association revealed on Sunday.
For years, the F.J. King had achieved near-mythical status among local wreck hunters. Maritime historian Brendon Baillod, who led the project, said its reputation only deepened the intrigue.
“We really wanted to solve this mystery, and we didn’t expect to,” Baillod told CNN. “(The ship) seemed to have just vanished into thin air. … I actually couldn’t believe we found it.”
A 19th-century workhorse
Constructed in 1867, the 144-foot schooner was built for Great Lakes commerce, transporting grain, lumber, iron ore, and other cargo during Wisconsin’s era as America’s breadbasket.
After nearly two decades of service, the ship met its fate in 1886 when gale-force winds tore it apart. Captain William Griffin ordered the crew into a yawl boat, where they watched as their vessel sank bow-first into the lake.
Historical accounts and the captain’s reports guided wreck hunters for years, but none succeeded.
Over time, the “ghost ship” became a legend. Around 20 years ago, Neptune’s Dive Club in Green Bay even offered a $1,000 reward for its discovery.
Baillod, now president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association, found the key to unlocking the puzzle in a newspaper article published a week after the sinking.
The report quoted lighthouse keeper William Sanderson, who noted the ship’s location to warn sailors of its protruding masts.
Plotting the site on a map, Baillod and his team created a search grid. On June 28, with the help of 20 volunteer citizen scientists, they used sonar to locate the wreck less than half a mile from Sanderson’s original description.
“We thought others had probably looked there, but apparently we were the first,” Baillod said. “And our citizen science members … were the first human beings to lay eyes on this ship since 1886. It was amazing.”
The sonar revealed a remarkably intact hull. Remotely operated vehicles later confirmed the ship’s identity, capturing images of the bow damage where it struck the lakebed and the stern, which had blown apart.
A historic find in pristine condition
For shipwreck researcher Ric Mixter, who was not involved in the discovery, the condition of the wreck is especially exciting.
“I think there’s a lot of secrets down there that (tell us) about what the era was like. … it’s amazing to have something that has been untouched, and we may be able to get some details from it,” said Mixter, a board member of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. “And the fact that they brought in novice explorers and archeologists to work with them, to get them excited about shipwrecks, is more important, I think, than the King is.”
Mixter also noted it made sense that Sanderson’s observations were more precise than the captain’s, given sailors in storms focus on survival rather than geography.
A lakebed full of secrets
The Great Lakes are considered the world’s most shipwreck-dense waters, with thousands of vessels lost to violent weather and heavy 19th-century traffic. Baillod estimates around 6,000 wrecks lie scattered across the lakes, including more than 200 still unlocated in Lake Michigan alone.
Advances in sonar technology, falling equipment costs, and clearer waters caused by invasive quagga mussels have all contributed to a surge in recent discoveries.
In fact, Baillod believes the Great Lakes may now be entering a “golden age” of shipwreck hunting.
“Tourism has popped up around paddle boarding and kayaking, and these shipwrecks are visible from the surface because the water is so clear,” Baillod said.
Looking ahead, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is working on a project to map the Great Lakes floor in high resolution by 2030, a move Baillod says could reveal every wreck.
Until then, he plans to keep scouring his database with the help of volunteers.
“I keep looking, and I don’t doubt that we’ll keep finding.”
