MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN—Popular Science reports that a Wisconsin fisherman happened upon the wreck of the legendary Great Lakes tugboat J.C Ames. The angler first located the remains of an unknown ship in Lake Michigan off of the coast of Manitowoc, which he brought to the attention of local authorities. A collaboration between the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association later identified the ship as the J.C. Ames. Built in 1881 for a cost of $50,000—more than one million dollars today—the 670-horsepower tug was one of the largest of its kind on the Great Lakes. Initially commissioned to haul lumber, it was said that the vessel could tow five barges’ worth of timber alone. Later, the Ames pulled railroad barges between Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. 1n 1923, after four decades of service, the ship was decommissioned and intentionally set aflame and sunk near Manitowoc. “These kinds of discoveries are always so exciting because it allows a piece of lost history to resurface,” said marine archaeologist Tamara Thomsen. It sat there for over a hundred years and then came back on our radar completely by chance.” To read more about Great Lakes wrecks, go to "Shipwreck Alley."
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