'Ghost ship' sunk 140 years ago at the bottom of the lake was unexpectedly found, incredibly intact

After decades of searching the bottom of Lake Michigan, archaeologists have identified the wreck of the 'ghost ship' FJ King, which was sunk by a storm 140 years ago off the coast of Wisconsin.

Nearly 140 years have passed, the mystery of the "ghost ship" FJ King on Lake Michigan has finally been solved, ending a decades-long search - Photo: NYPost

The information released by the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Society is attracting the attention of archaeology and science enthusiasts.

A research team led by Brendon Baillod discovered the "ghost ship" wreck near the small town of Bailey's Harbor, Door Peninsula, the land jutting out into Lake Michigan that forms the distinctive "thumb" shape of the state of Wisconsin.

The FJ King was a 144-foot, three-masted cargo ship built in 1867 in Toledo, Ohio. She primarily transported grain and iron ore.

According to records, on September 15, 1886, while transporting iron ore from Escanaba (Michigan) to Chicago, the ship encountered a big storm off the Door Peninsula. Waves 2.5 - 3m high broke the hull of the ship.

After hours of unsuccessful pumping, Captain William Griffin was forced to order the crew to leave the ship and take the lifeboats.

By 2 a.m., the ship was sinking toward the bow, while a strong storm blew the rear cockpit open, lifting Griffin’s papers 15 meters into the air. Fortunately, a passing sailboat rescued the entire crew and brought them to shore.

For decades, the FJ King has been a "mystery" to shipwreck hunters. Since the 1970s, numerous searches have been conducted but have failed due to conflicting reports about the location of the sunken ship.

Captain Griffin claimed the ship sank about 5 miles from Bailey's Harbor, while lighthouse workers reported seeing the mast protruding closer to shore. Local fishermen also repeatedly claimed to have pulled their nets into debris. As a result, the FJ King became known as the "ghost ship" of Lake Michigan.

Baillod chose to trust the lighthouse keeper’s report. He searched an area of ​​about 5 square kilometers and used side-scan sonar. The results showed an object about 43 meters long, less than 1 km from the lighthouse.

Upon closer inspection, it was the body of the FJ King. "We had to pinch ourselves to believe it was real. After so many failures, we didn't expect to find it so quickly," Baillod shared.

What surprised the archaeologists was that the hull remained relatively intact, rather than being crushed by the weight of the iron ore. However, photographs showed that the wreck was now covered in invasive quagga mussels, which have been destroying many shipwrecks in the Great Lakes region.

In the past three years, the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association has found five shipwrecks, including the steamer LW Crane in the Fox River (Oshkosh) and the schooner John Evenson and Margaret A. Muir off Algoma. Baillod alone discovered the schooner Trinidad in 2023.

According to the Wisconsin Water Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Great Lakes region is estimated to contain between 6,000 and 10,000 shipwrecks, most of which remain undiscovered . The new discovery of the FJ King not only solves a centuries-old mystery, but also highlights the urgency of preserving underwater heritage from the invasion of alien species.

MINH HAI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tau-ma-140-nam-chim-duoi-day-ho-bat-ngo-duoc-tim-thay-nguyen-ven-den-kho-tin-20250917204223065.htm