Sebastopol (1855)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Sebastopol
• Type: Sidewheel passenger and freight steamer
• Year Built: 1855
• Builder: Undocumented
• Dimensions: Length ~150-200 ft (45.7-61 m); Beam; Depth of hold
• Registered Tonnage: Not explicitly archived
• Depth at Wreck Site: 4.5 m / 15 ft
• Location: Lake Michigan near Milwaukee

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Sidewheel passenger and freight steamer designed for mixed transport along Lake Michigan, featuring paddle wheels and likely a single or twin smokestack configuration typical of mid-19th-century inland steamers.

Description

A wooden-hulled sidewheel steamer constructed in 1855. Designed for mixed passenger and freight transport along Lake Michigan, featuring paddle wheels and likely a single or twin smokestack configuration typical of mid-19th-century inland steamers. Internal construction and power plant details are unrecorded in available sources.

History

• 1855 Grounding: Shortly after construction, Sebastopol stranded ~3 miles south of Milwaukee harbor piers. She was eventually wrecked and broken up post-incident; this may reflect a separate loss or refer to the same vessel listed as lost in 1865—records ambiguous.
• Service Life: Operated as a passenger and freight steamer on Lake Michigan; frequency of operations, ownership, and captain’s names remain undocumented.
• 1855–1865: Sparse record-keeping; likely refloated or rebuilt following the early grounding event, continuing operations until the final loss in 1865.

Significant Incidents

• Cause of Loss: Driven ashore in storm conditions in early November 1865; vessel was “dashed in pieces” indicating structural failure due to wave action and grounding.
• Salvage/Inquiry: No records of salvage or formal inquiry. The wreck likely remained where grounded and gradually deteriorated.
• Crew Outcome: No documented fatalities or injuries.

Final Disposition

• Discovery: A wreck believed to be Sebastopol was found in 1976 by divers in ~15 ft (4.5 m) of water off Milwaukee. Wreckage is broken up and lies on sandy bottom and consists of scattered artifacts consistent with a 19th-century vessel.
• Site Condition: Approximately 50% of hull remains extant. Artifacts include broken china, stove components, cowhide, harness parts, nails, and other domestic/freight items. Site is heavily colonized by zebra mussels.

Current Condition & Accessibility

No known Notices to Mariners or formal hazard bulletins were issued at the time, and none survive. Given shallow depth near harbor, the wreck site may have represented a navigational hazard initially but likely faded from active chart warnings soon after.

Resources & Links

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The Sebastopol represents a typical mid-19th-century sidewheel cargo-passenger steamer of Lake Michigan—built in 1855, wrecked during a storm in early November 1865, and later rediscovered in shallow water near Milwaukee. The extant wreck and artifacts provide tangible archaeological context for shipping hazards of the era, while archival gaps call for further research to fully reconstruct the vessel’s service life. Its documentation fills a valuable niche in the broader corpus of Great Lakes maritime heritage.