Shipwreck hunters have discovered the remains of the Lac La Belle, a luxury steamer that sank in a Lake Michigan gale in 1872, killing eight people, the Associated Press reported. Shipwreck World announced Friday that a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn found the vessel about 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, in October 2022.
The announcement was delayed to allow the team to create a three-dimensional video model of the ship, which poor weather and scheduling conflicts prevented until last summer.
Newsweek reached out to Ehorn via email on Sunday for comment.
Why It Matters
The discovery completes a nearly 60-year quest by Ehorn, who has been searching for the Lac La Belle since 1965.
The finding adds to the historical record of Great Lakes maritime disasters and represents the 15th shipwreck Ehorn has located. The Great Lakes are home to an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 shipwrecks, most of which remain undiscovered, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Water Library.
Shipwreck hunters have intensified their searches in recent years due to concerns that invasive quagga mussels are slowly destroying these underwater historical sites.
What To Know
The Lac La Belle was built in 1864 in Cleveland. The massive 217-foot steamer ran between Cleveland and Lake Superior but sank in the St. Clair River in 1866 after a collision.
The ship was raised in 1869 and reconditioned before returning to service.
On the night of October 13, 1872, the ship left Milwaukee for Grand Haven, Michigan, carrying 53 passengers and crew along with cargo including barley, pork, flour and whiskey. About two hours into the journey during a severe gale, the ship began leaking uncontrollably.
The captain turned back toward Milwaukee, but massive waves crashed over the vessel, extinguishing the boilers. Around 5 a.m., as the storm drove the ship southward, the captain ordered lifeboats lowered and the Lac La Belle went down stern first.
One lifeboat capsized on the way to shore, killing eight people. The other lifeboats successfully reached land along the Wisconsin coast between Racine and Kenosha.
Ehorn, now 80, used a clue from fellow wreck hunter and author Ross Richardson in 2022 to narrow his search area. Using side-scan sonar, he located the ship after just two hours on the lake. The wreck’s exterior is covered with quagga mussels and the upper cabins are gone, but the hull appears intact and the oak interiors remain in good condition.
What People Are Saying
Paul Ehorn told the Associated Press: “It’s kind of a game, like solve the puzzle. Sometimes you don’t have many pieces to put the puzzle together but this one worked out and we found it right away. It’s getting harder and harder. The easier ones have been found.”
The Scuba News on X: “Lost in 1872. Found nearly 150 years later. The passenger steamer Lac La Belle has finally been discovered in Lake Michigan by veteran wreckhunter Paul Ehorn, and the story behind it reads like pure maritime legend.”
What Happens Next
Ehorn will be presenting the discovery in person at the 2026 Ghost Ships Festival at the Inn on Maritime Bay in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on March 7.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
