The PS Lady Elgin was a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that sank in Lake Michigan off the fledgling town of Port Clinton, Illinois, whose geography is now divided between Highland Park and Highwood, Illinois, after she was rammed in a gale by the schooner Augusta in the early hours of September 8, 1860. The passenger manifest was lost with the collision, but the sinking of Lady Elgin resulted in the loss of about 300 lives in what was called "one of the greatest marine horrors on record". Four years after the disaster, a new rule required sailing vessels to carry running lights. The Lady Elgin disaster remains the greatest loss of life on open water in the history of the Great Lakes.
The PS Alpena was a sidewheel steamer built by Thomas Arnold of Gallagher & Company at Marine City, Michigan in 1866. She was operated by the Goodrich Line after being purchased from Gardner, Ward & Gallagher in April 1868. The Alpena sank in Lake Michigan in the "Big Blow" storm on October 15, 1880, with the loss of all on board.
The SS Kamloops was a lake freighter that was part of the fleet of Canada Steamship Lines from its launching in 1924 until it sank with all hands off Isle Royale in Lake Superior on or about 7 December 1927.
SS Comet was a steamship that operated on the Great Lakes. Comet was built in 1857 as a wooden-hulled propeller-driven cargo vessel that was soon adapted to carry passengers. She suffered a series of maritime accidents prior to her final sinking in 1875 causing the loss of ten lives. She became known as the only treasure ship of Lake Superior because she carried 70 tons of Montana silver ore when she sank. The first attempts to salvage her cargo in 1876 and 1938 were unsuccessful. Comet was finally salvaged in the 1980s when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society illegally removed artifacts from the wreck. The artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The fate of her silver ore cargo is unknown. Comet's wreck is now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum.
Francisco Morazan was a 1,442 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1922 as Arcadia by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, for German owners. She was sold in 1924 and renamed Elbing. She was seized by the Allies in the River Elbe, Germany in May 1945, passed to the United Kingdom's Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Congress. In 1946, she was allocated to the Norwegian Government and renamed Brunes.
The Glenlyon was a freighter built in 1893; it was sunk off the shore of Isle Royale in Lake Superior in 1924 and the remains are still on the lake bottom. The wreck was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Algoma was a screw steamer built in 1883. She sank off Mott Island near Isle Royale in Lake Superior in 1885 and some of her remains are still on the lake bottom. The wreck was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Northerner was an 81-foot-long (24.7-meter-long), two-masted schooner. She sank in Lake Michigan on November 29, 1868, five miles southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin, United States. The bottom of the ship lies under 130 feet of water.
The Frank O'Connor was a bulk carrier that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin, United States. In 1994 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Joys was a steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, United States. In 2007 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Rosinco was a diesel-powered luxury yacht that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1928. The yacht was built in 1916 as Georgiana III and served during World War I as USS Georgiana III, a Section patrol craft, under a free lease to the Navy by her owner and commanding officer. After the war the yacht was sold and renamed Whitemarsh in 1918. In 1925, after sale to Robert Hosmer Morse of Fairbanks-Morse, the yacht became Rosinco. She was sunk following a collision in 1928 and the wreck was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Daniel Lyons was a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin, United States. In 2007 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Hetty Taylor was a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States. In 2005 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
MV E Evangelia is a shipwrecked 7,355-gross register ton (GRT) refrigerated cargo ship at Costinești on the Black Sea coast of Romania. She was built in Northern Ireland in 1942 as the Empire ship Empire Strength, was operated by Blue Star Line from 1942 to 1961, was bought by Greek shipowners in 1965 and wrecked in 1968. The ship had four names in her career, having been renamed Saxon Star in 1946, Redbrook in 1961 and E Evangelia in 1965.
Manistee was a packet steamer that disappeared on Lake Superior on November 15 or 16, 1883. She was presumed to have sunk, with no surviving crew or passengers. The cause remains a mystery, and her wreckage has not been found.
The Phoenix was a steamship that burned on Lake Michigan on 21 November 1847, with the loss of at least 190 but perhaps as many as 250 lives. The loss of life made this disaster, in terms of loss of life from the sinking of a single vessel, the fourth-worst tragedy in the history of the Great Lakes.
W.H. Gilcher was a steam lake freighter built in 1890–1891 by Cleveland Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland for Gilchrist, Gilcher & Schuck of Sandusky, with intention of transporting cargo between various ports located on Great Lakes. The ship was named after William H. Gilcher, one of the owners of the company. In October 1892 the freighter ran into a strong gale on Lake Michigan and foundered with the loss of eighteen men.
The SS Andaste was a semi-whaleback freighter, built in 1892 by the Cleveland Ship Building Company for the Lake Superior Iron Company. The vessel is best known for sinking on Lake Michigan on the night of September 9–10, 1929, with all hands; 25 men were lost. As of 2020, the wreck of Andaste has not yet been located.
The SS Atlanta was a wooden hulled Great Lakes steamer that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, United States, after burning down. Her wreckage still remains at the bottom of the lake, and on November 6, 2017, the wreck of the Atlanta was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
