Early Vessels
Wisconsin's Maritime Trails
Native American canoes launched America’s maritime legacy about 12,000 years ago, making them among the world’s oldest watercraft.
Ancient dugout canoes are occasionally preserved when environmental conditions are just right. The canoe above was submerged and waterlogged when it was discovered in 1996 by a twelve-year-old girl and her grandfather in Lake Mary, near Kenosha. They left their find submerged and reported it immediately, allowing Wisconsin Historical Society underwater archaeologists to carefully remove and conserve it. Preserving the dugout required a long process of replacing the water in the wood with a chemical solution that prevents collapse and decay. The 2,000 year old dugout is Wisconsin's oldest known watercraft.
Native American dugout and birchbark canoes were efficient and well-suited for traveling and gathering food along Wisconsin's lakes and rivers.
During the 1800s, Native Americans paddled large fleets of dugout and birchbark canoes along the Lake Michigan coastline. Once a year they headed to Chicago to receive treaty payments offered in exchange for their land and resources. As many as three hundred travelers would land their canoes on Simmon's Island, not far from here. In one account, Lake Michigan's unpredictable and dangerous weather stranded the boaters on the island for three weeks.
Marker is at the intersection of First Avenue and 56th Street, on the right when traveling south on First Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
