In less than a year, the schooner Trinidad has gone from lost for good to found on the State Register of Historic Places. On Thursday, the Wisconsin Historical Society announced that the shipwreck found last summer about 10 miles away from the Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse would be placed on the list, placing the historic vessel under state and federal protections. Built in 1867, the Trinidad sank off the coast of Algoma in 1881 on its way to Chicago with a load of coal. Brendon Baillod and Robert Jaeck found Kewaunee County’s latest shipwreck, the 156-year-old 140-foot schooner Trinidad, on July 15th using various tools, including survivor accounts of the shipwreck and side scan sonar technology. Shortly after he discovered it, Baillod said the Trinidad was a unique vessel to find because of its backstory and condition.

On Thursday, the Mojave shipwreck in Mosel and Lakeview Hospital in Milwaukee was also named to the Wisconsin Historical Society’s State Register of Historic Places. In December, four ships with ties to Door and Kewaunee counties were placed on the list, including the Peoria.

Photo by Brendon Baillod and Robert Jaeck