Along Lake Michigan: Shipwreck Stories of Life and Loss

by Michael Schumacher

Notable shipwrecks of Lake Michigan throughout a century of enterprise, industry, heroism, and disaster on the Great Lakes The Great Lakes are graveyards of a vast number of shipwrecks (30,000 by some estimates), and Lake Michigan has more than the other four lakes combined. The stories of those wrecks tell the history of that mighty lake in its endless, mercurial challenge to human endeavor. Surveying the wreckage throughout the decades, from the fiery end of the twin propeller–driven Phoenix in 1847 to the failure of the Anna Minch to outrun the infamous 1940 Armistice Day storm, Michael Schumacher charts the course of shipping disasters great and small on Lake Michigan. He illuminates the details of maritime weather and shipcraft, the lives devoted to and lost on the water, and the mistakes and monumental failures that led to these ships’ watery ends. Schumacher’s deft storytelling, drawing from deep research and comprehensive knowledge, brings forth the vivid details of the last minutes of these doomed ships, along with the circumstances surrounding their voyages. Here are tragic tales like that of the Eastland, the deadliest shipwreck in Great Lakes history, lost while docked in the Chicago River; the Rouse Simmons, a wooden schooner loaded with Christmas trees; the train ferry Milwaukee and the Wisconsin, a package freighter, gone within one week of each other in October 1929; and the passenger vessel the Lady Elgin, a devastating loss met with incredible heroism. Liberally illustrated with historical photographs, the stories of these shipwrecks, spanning a full century of commercial traffic on Lake Michigan, document the myriad forms of bravery and misfortune that mark our encounters with the Great Lakes.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Kindle Edition

Published August 26, 2025

About the author

A lifelong resident of the Great Lakes region, Michael Schumacher is the author of twelve books, including biographies of Allen Ginsberg, Phil Ochs, and Eric Clapton, and the award-winning book Wreck of the Carl D. He has also written twenty-five documentaries on Great Lakes shipwrecks and lighthouses.

Reviews

[Larry (LPosse1) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars — “A Freshwater Follow-Up”

Following up John Bacon’s excellent Gales of November about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I decided to stay on the same wavelength—er, wave—and picked up Along Lake Michigan by Michael Schumacher. I guess I’ve developed a thing for shipwrecks!

This short volume explores shipwrecks that occurred on Lake Michigan, which, as it turns out, has had more wrecks than any other Great Lake. To my surprise, several happened close to my own neck of the woods—the North Shore. That local connection made the book all the more compelling.

Schumacher doesn’t go into great detail on any one disaster but instead offers a series of vignettes spanning the 1840s through the 1940s. Some chapters are stronger than others, but there’s plenty here for history buffs or anyone fascinated by Great Lakes lore. It’s not as deeply researched or emotionally gripping as Bacon’s Gales of November, but it’s an enjoyable companion read for those on a shipwreck streak like me.

For me, the story of the Eastland has always loomed large—its tragic capsizing in the Chicago River feels omnipresent for anyone who knows this city’s history. I took an architectural boat tour this past weekend and found myself a bit haunted passing the site, imagining the poor souls who perished that day. Reading Along Lake Michigan added another layer of depth and reflection to that experience.

If you’re into freshwater shipwrecks, this book’s for you. If not, maybe stay ashore!

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Schumacher is a writer and lifelong Great Lakes resident. In his 2025 book Along Lake Michigan, he 14 stories of shipwrecks along the Great Lakes from 1847 to 1940. This represented a century in American history where there seemed to be a lot more industrial and commercial boat traffic along the Great Lakes than there is in modern times, though weather monitoring, communication, navigation technology, and boat construction were not of modern standards, leading to an inevitable but still tragic series of terrible accidents, as profiled here.

I'm glad that Schumacher gathered all of these accidents together and published this book; I found it well-researched and informative, but also difficult to get through as it was so depressing. I admit I skipped the Eastland chapter having already read Jay Boningsinga's overwrought book on the topic, Sinking of the Eastland.

Further reading:
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan - more interesting historical perspectives about the Great Lakes

My statistics:
Book 273 for 2025
Book 2199 cumulatively

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating collection of shipwreck accounts presents a detailed look at several Lake Michigan disasters. Well-researched and packed with in-depth information (no pun intended), this book describes the ships and people involved in the various sinkings. Schumacher also takes the time to tell a little bit about the ships' careers before the tragedies, breathing new life into their stories, and preserving them, if only in print, at the height of their grandeur. I had heard before of some of these, such as the Christmas tree ship and the Eastland, but a few were new to me. The prose is readable and the tales compelling. An intriguing look at some of the sadder histories on our Lake.

[Madeline Elsinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If I've learned one thing working on many books about Great Lakes shipwrecks, it's that Nature usually wins, and that for all of the human efforts to sail in all conditions, human foibles can lead to disastrous results."

"Lake Michigan holds more shipwrecks than the four other Great Lakes combined, and its sheer size has a lot to do with it."

Thank you NetGalley and University of Minnesota for the eARC! Along Lake Michigan explores 14 shipwrecks ranging from 1847 to 1940. Moving in chronological order, the short chapters detail what’s happened to each ship as well as a short history of the ships and, when relevant, diving explorations.

The shipwrecks were mostly a result of nature or accidents, a couple by fire and others as collisions/groundings. But a few were mysteries, there were some that we didn’t know where they even sunk until a century afterwards, let alone what exactly caused the tragedy with so many theories circling.

Mostly a basic overview of the crashes, doesn’t go too in depth and the information about each wreck varies. Sometimes the author will provide fun facts about the historical events surrounding the crash or the owner of the shipping line, while other times he only gives the story of how the shipwreck happened. And in later chapters he wrote as if telling a story (finally!) instead of just reciting the bare facts. So it was inconsistent in its narrative style but no matter what kind of information provided, the author mostly tells it in a dry, surface level way which reads more like a Wikipedia page than an in depth exploration.

For earlier wrecks, like the 19th century ones, I can understand the lack of information if there’s not much available compared to the more "recent" tragedies. But for the mysterious shipwrecks I wish we had a deeper exploration about the theories!

This is more for casual readers who have a mild interest in Lake Michigan shipwrecks, or shipping disasters in general. There are probably better books if you want more in depth details and not just a basic summary, especially if you’re already somewhat knowledgeable about the wrecks. However this would be good if 1) you're mildly curious about the topic and have zero prior knowledge about these wrecks, 2) as a reference guide to see which wrecks you’d like to learn more about-for instance I’ve added books about the Eastland to my TBR- or 3) as a gift.

Overall it was an interesting read to get me started on the topic, and as a Michigander I appreciated learning more about the history of one of our Great Lakes!

Rating: 3.5 stars

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an eye-opening book to see how many different ways big shipwrecks have happened in Lake Michigan. The author did a great job of showing how technology and safety rules changed as the result of different incidents.

Am I now going to listen to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and ponder how I’m never going on the water again? Maybe. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for an eARC of this book! This is my honest review.

[Chloe Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be published August 26th, 2025

Engaging and informative. I do wish the author would stick to a narrative style. Some of the chapters are chronological and others jump back and forth in time.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

[Jim Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Deftly written accounts of shipwrecks in Lake Michigan.

[Ron Baumer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at some early year maritime disasters on Lake Michigan. While most are centered on poor choices made during bad weather, several o0thers look at non-storm related events. The stories are interesting; however, it seems like the author rushed through some of the stories or did not research the events thoroughly. That said, it was a quick, in formative read that the maritime fan will enjoy.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Aranka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read that absolutely broke my heart. I’ve read most of Schumacher’s books and none of them hit me this hard. A good primer on ship wrecks of Lake Michigan to get started with.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

big waves. would've been interested in hearing more about how shipping or safety was reformed in this time period as well