Shipwrecks
in Indiana
Underwater Archaeology
in Lake Michigan
Map of the Muskegon shipwreck site.
Although Indiana is a landlocked state, the
northwestern counties bordering Lake Michigan
have served as popular ports of trade and travel
for centuries. The busy lake traffic, combined
with the region’s occasionally harsh weather, has
resulted in the presence of many historic
shipwrecks within the Indiana territorial waters
of Lake Michigan.
Map of Unknown Shipwreck #2 site.
In the 1980’s, Gary D. Ellis, the first Indiana
State Archaeologist at the Department of
Natural Resources (“DNR”), and avid scuba
diver, began researching and documenting the
shipwrecks of Indiana. In 1983, Ellis began the
Submerged Artifact and Vessel Evaluation
Program (“SAVE”) to survey the Indiana
portion of Lake Michigan for cultural resources.
SAVE was initiated as a direct response to an
attempt to salvage the shipwreck of the J.D.
Marshall, which sunk in 1911. The rescue of the
Marshall by the DNR served as a catalyst for the
state to protect Indiana’s submerged cultural
resources. To date the SAVE program has
evaluated 14 shipwreck sites ranging in age from
the early to late 19th century.
Ellis trained DNR Conservation Officers in
underwater archaeological techniques to help
conduct the surveys. The methodologies
employed during the SAVE surveys included
archival research, sonar and other remote
sensing methods, systematic survey on grids or
transects, photographic and graphic
documentation, and subsurface topographic
mapping. The shipwrecks SAVE team
documented included passenger boats,
freighters, “sand-suckers,” and car ferries.
The archaeological survey of the Muskegon
(originally named the Peerless) shipwreck was
conducted over a three-year period and
consisted of 25 project dives. As a result of this
research, the Muskegon is now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Photograph of the Muskegon shipwreck.
The Muskegon was a medium sized steam
powered passenger-freighter vessel that was
brought down by fire in 1910. However, at the
time of its sinking the vessel had been converted
to a “sand-sucker.” The sand and gravel
company that owned the Muskegon sent the J.D.
Marshall, a 154-foot wooden “lumber hooker,”
to salvage the Muskegon’s deck and sandsucking
equipment in 1911. Ironically, outfitted
with the Muskegon’s complement of equipment
the Marshall itself sank the following day, over
laden and in heavy seas, and killing four men.
