Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Whirlwind
- Type: Wooden two-masted schooner
- Year Built: 1848
- Builder: Justice Bailey
- Dimensions: Length X ft (Y m); Beam; Depth of hold
- Registered Tonnage: 100,000 board feet of hardwood and pine lumber
- Location: Driven onto a sandbar near Racine, Wisconsin, opposite Senator Doolittle’s residence (Sixth and Park Street)
- Coordinates: N 42° 43.856′, W 87° 46.669′
- Official Number: 26226
- Number of Masts: 2
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
A mid-19th-century lumber schooner optimized for hauling timber across Lake Michigan—designed with a shallow draft suitable for accessing undeveloped ports and river mouths.
Description
In early September 1876, Whirlwind, under Captain Henry Wilson of Chicago, was en route with a heavy timber load. A late-season gale struck on 10 September, and she became waterlogged. Drifting in heavy seas, she ran aground on a sandbar directly across from the ravine beside ex-Senator Doolittle’s house in Racine. The crew abandoned ship safely in their yawl while the Whirlwind succumbed to wave action.
History
Declared a total loss, she was abandoned on-site. By late September, newspapers reported she was being dismantled “in place” on the sandbar.
Significant Incidents
- 10 September 1876: Whirlwind runs aground during a gale, leading to the crew’s safe abandonment.
Final Disposition
Nil return. A confirmed wreck dive or survey has not been recorded. However, public mapping projects around Racine list her as a known wreck with probable remains buried near the shoreline.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No modern navigational hazards or markers denote the site. Shallow water and shifting sands may occasionally reveal structural timbers, but the area remains uncharted for divers.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”whirlwind-us-26226″ title=”References & Links”]
The Whirlwind, a Racine-built schooner, foundered on 10 September 1876 when she grounded on a sandbar near Racine’s bluff while towing 100,000 board feet of lumber. The intact crew escaped; however, she was broken apart by waves and declared lost. Today, structural remnants may still lurk under shifting sands at that site—an uncharted but historically significant wreck of the Great Lakes timber trade.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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