1880 shipwreck is discovered by accident in Wisconsin river

A survey of a Wisconsin river led to the accidental discovery of a shipwreck that sank in the area over a century ago. 

The Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation Program and the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association were conducting a high-resolution sonar survey earlier this year of the Fox River to map "potential cultural sites" in a 2.5-mile stretch of the waterway, the historical society said on social media. Those sites included the wreck of a steamer that sank in 1870 and the identified wreck of a ship that had been surveyed in 2016.  

Using a sonar system that creates a 3D rendering of the river bottom, the researchers were able to map the entire section of the river in high resolution, the archaeology association said. The stretch that the team mapped has "a significant amount" of debris, the researchers said, including large trees, rocks and remnants of lumber rafts and collapsed bridges. But amid the debris, they were surprised to see the remains of what appeared to be a different ship.