National Register of Historic Places

ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck

Wilson, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
Listed
December 14, 2020
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
100005902

About this property

Robert C. Pringle, originally named Chequamegon, was a wooden-hulled American tugboat. She sank without loss of life on Lake Michigan, near Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on June 19, 1922, after striking an obstruction, possibly floating driftwood. Chequamegon was built in 1903 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. She was built for the newly formed Chequamegon Bay Transportation Company of Ashland, Wisconsin, under which she hauled freight between Ashland, Bayfield, Washburn and Madeline Island. She was sold multiple times between 1904 and 1918, and was renamed Pere Marquette 7 in 1911. In 1918, she was sold to the Pringle Barge Line, who converted her to a tug and renamed her Robert C. Pringle. On June 18, 1922, Robert C. Pringle began towing the wooden bulk freighter Venezuela from Milwaukee to Sandusky, Ohio, where the Venezuela was scheduled to receive extensive repairs. At about 2:00 a.m. on the following day, as the vessels were passing Sheboygan, Robert C. Pringle struck an obstruction, and began taking on water rapidly. Despite her pumps being in operation, the water eventually extinguished her boilers, forcing her crew to abandon her and row to Venezuela. All crewmen were delivered safely to Manitowoc. Robert C. Pringle's wreck was discovered in 2008 by Steve Radovan. In 2019, it was subjected to a thorough archaeological survey by the Wisconsin Historical Society, which described the wreck as "remarkably intact". The wreck of Robert C. Pringle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2020.

Location

Wilson, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
43.69156, -87.55497

Categories

ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC NON-ABORIGINALMARITIME HISTORYCOMMERCE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

HETTY TAYLOR (shipwreck)
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5 mi
SELAH CHAMBERLAIN (bulk carrier) Shipwreck
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7.4 mi
SILVER LAKE (scow-schooner) Shipwreck
Listed
8.1 mi
Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory
Industrial
8.5 mi
Third Ward School
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8.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck listed on the National Register?

ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2020.

What type of historic resource is ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck?

ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck?

The period of significance for ROBERT C. PRINGLE (tug) Shipwreck is recorded as the listed era.

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