GARDNER (WTAQ-WLUK) — A shipwreck site in the waters of Green Bay is being recognized for its historical significance.
The Wisconsin Historical Society announced the listing of the Claflin Point Site in the town of Gardner in Door County on the State Register of Historic Places.
The shipwreck is submerged in the waters of Green Bay.
The site was originally listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Through additional scholarship and information gathered from resources unavailable at the time of nomination, the shipwreck described in the original documentation was identified as the City of Kalamazoo. The nomination was updated through Additional Documentation to account for the ship and its history.
The City of Kalamazoo was launched October 22, 1892. The steamer was built by master shipbuilder Captain John B. Martelle at his unimproved yard in South Haven, Michigan. The City of Kalamazoo was used as a passenger-packet vessel between South Haven and Chicago. Beginning in 1893, it provided service for the World’s Columbian Exposition. After the event, it continued this route, carrying passengers and freight. On the night of November 11, 1911, the vessel was tied up in winter quarters at its dock on Manistee Lake when it mysteriously caught fire, burned to the waterline and sank. It was refloated in 1912 and rebuilt as a barge in 1914 for use in the Sturgeon Bay stone trade. Although it burned and was rebuilt, the steamer retained the same hull lines throughout its service career. It sank in 1922 due to extensive leaks.
State and federal laws protect this shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing, or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime.
