DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — The schooner F.J. King was built in 1867 and sank off the coast of Bailey’s Harbor in 1886.
We spoke with the WUAA to learn more about their recent discovery, watch below:
"We really didn’t think we were gonna find it, the F.J. King. I mean, she was something of a ghost ship," Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association President, Brendon Baillod said.
Baillod says the F.J. King became known as a ghost ship after fishermen claimed to pull up pieces of it and a lighthouse keeper swore he saw its masts.
"Commercial fishermen had claimed to have snagged her and brought up pieces in their nets, but when people went out to the site, there was nothing there," Baillod said.
But no one ever actually found it until this summer.
"And all of a sudden, this big ship just crawls across the screen and it’s intact. We can see the hatches on the darn thing," Baillod said.
Just a few months ago, the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association discovered the wreck unexpectedly during an educational tour on the water.
"And we just couldn’t believe it. A shout went up, people were kinda pinching themselves like, ‘Oh my God, we found the F.J. King'," Baillod said.
The WUAA says they hope to see the wreck added to both the state and national historic registers in the near future.
On September 24th, the organization will hold a press conference at the Door County Maritime Museum, where they’ll also offer 3D virtual reality tours of the wreck using Oculus VR headsets.
