‘Ghost Ship’ Lost For 140 Years Finally Found At Bottom Of US’ Lake Michigan

In this photo released by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Historical Society diver Zach Whitrock collects images of the wreckage of the schooner FJ King for a photo model. (IMAGE: AP PHOTO)

After decades of searching, divers have finally discovered the wreck of a “ghost ship” that went down in a storm nearly 140 years ago in Lake Michigan, off the coast of Wisconsin.

The schooner, called the F.J. King, sank in September 1886 while carrying iron ore from Michigan to Chicago. The find was confirmed this week by the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association. The Associated Press, which first reported the development, said the wreck was located in June by a team led by researcher Brendon Baillod.

For decades, though, no one could locate the wreck. Conflicting accounts clouded the search, the ship’s captain William Griffin said it went down about 5 miles off Bailey’s Harbor, but a lighthouse keeper swore he saw its masts closer to shore. Even fishermen who pulled up odd bits of wreckage couldn’t narrow it down. As years passed, the F.J. King earned a reputation as a “ghost ship” among shipwreck hunters.

The 144-foot, three-masted cargo ship, built in 1867, had run into 8-10 foot waves that ripped through its wooden hull. After hours of trying to pump out water, Griffin finally ordered his crew into lifeboats. The vessel then went down bow-first around 2 a.m., with such force that the stern deckhouse blew off and scattered papers 50 feet into the air. Fortunately, all crew members were later rescued by a passing schooner.

Baillod eventually drew a grid based on the lighthouse keeper’s coordinates and used side-scan sonar to scan the area. To his surprise, he picked up a 140-foot-long shape less than a kilometre from the lighthouse’s location. “A few of us had to pinch each other,” he said after confirming it was the F.J. King. What shocked divers even more was that the hull was still intact, despite the heavy cargo it was carrying when it sank.

The Great Lakes are estimated to hold between 6,000 and 10,000 shipwrecks, but most remain lost.