Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Christina Nilsson
- Type: Three-masted wooden schooner
- Year Built: 1871
- Builder: Hanson & Scove
- Dimensions: 139 ft (42.5 m) length × 26 ft (7.9 m) beam × 11 ft (3.4 m) depth
- Registered Tonnage: ~575 tons
- Depth at Wreck Site: 4.6 m / 15 ft
- Location: Outer Reef at Baileys Harbour, Door County, Wisconsin
- Official Number: 125293
- Original Owners: Charles M. Lindgren (original owner)
- Number of Masts: Three
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
A typical post-Civil War Great Lakes cargo schooner, built for hauling bulk commodities like iron and grain—in essence, the “tractor-trailers” of late-19th-century maritime freight.
Description
- Wooden single-deck hull with three masts (square-rigged foremast, fore-and-aft main and mizzen)
- Constructed with heavy framing and strong fastenings; well-preserved lower hull remains visible today
History
- 3 Aug 1871: Launched in Manitowoc
- 7 Aug 1871: Maiden voyage; enrolled in Chicago
- 1873: Survived storm off Point Betsy; needed repairs
- 1881–82: Maintenance and keelson replacement in Manitowoc, improving insurance rating to A-2
- 23 Oct 1884: Departed Escanaba with 575 tons pig iron bound for Chicago
- 24 Oct 1884: Caught in blizzard and gale-force winds; captain sought shelter at Baileys Harbor
- 8:30 AM: Struck Outer Reef, sank immediately in 15 ft of water; crew of eight abandoned ship, rescued via yawl to shore
Significant Incidents
- Struck Outer Reef during a storm on 24 October 1884, leading to immediate sinking.
Final Disposition
The vessel was declared a total loss. A partial salvage effort (lifting ~250 tons of iron) was attempted through late 1884 but deemed unworthy of complete recovery; the hull was left to break up over winter.
Current Condition & Accessibility
The wreck has been documented and surveyed since 1997 by Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association. Lies upright on reef, in ~15 ft of water off the Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”christina-nilsson-christine-us-125293″ title=”References & Links”]
The Christina Nilsson was a substantial three-masted cargo schooner engaged in bulk iron transport. Lost in a brief but brutal gale at the Outer Reef of Baileys Harbor, her shallow, intact remains now designate one of the most accessible and archaeologically valuable wrecks on the Great Lakes. With visible structural details and public educational support, the site stands as both a cautionary tale of maritime perils and a tangible classroom of 19th-century shipbuilding.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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