Beneath the Surface

With its vast stretches of farmland and flat vistas, Indiana may seem landlocked to the uninitiated, but residents of the state’s northwest region know Indiana’s Lake Michigan coast may be our best kept secret. Recognized for both its natural beauty and its complex relationship with industrial and economic development, the area’s biodiversity is well-established, if underappreciated, and its history is dynamic and deep.

Indiana’s 241 square miles of Lake Michigan played an integral role in the region’s economic, social and cultural growth. Vessels have crisscrossed Lake Michigan delivering people and raw natural resources for many decades—first to Indigenous settlements, then Euro-American fur traders, and finally to booming industrial cities like Gary, Whiting, East Chicago, and Michigan City.

Beneath the surface, the lake’s coast holds a hidden history: shipwrecks of all types, including passenger ferries, package boats, freighters, barges, and others. There are accounts of nearly 50 shipwrecks along the Indiana coast alone. Of those, only 14 have been located.

This underwater cultural history has been preserved, first by nature—Lake Michigan’s cold, fresh water and sandy bottom—and second, by local and regional partners who recognize the importance of these sites. The Lake Michigan Coastal Program (LMCP), the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and many other regional partners work to protect and promote Indiana’s Lake Michigan coastal environment and preserve its rich cultural and social history.

Near Michigan City, about a quarter mile offshore from Mt. Baldy sits the remains of The Muskegon, a shipwreck and historic site. First built as a passenger steamer named Peerless in 1872, The Muskegon was eventually converted to a transport for commercial goods around 1908. The ship caught fire in 1910 while docked at Michigan City and burned to the water line. Towed out into Lake Michigan, it was abandoned and sank into thirty feet of water where it remains.

Regional partners have worked to research and educate the public about The Muskegon and other cultural resources just offshore, listing the shipwreck in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is one of only two Indiana shipwrecks listed in the National Register; the other is the Material Service barge located under thirty feet of water near Whiting.

In July 2024, the State of Indiana created the Muskegon Nature Preserve to protect the site of the wreck. This nature preserve—in addition to the previously designated J.D. Marshall preserve nearby— safeguards the sites, enabling researchers to produce and share high resolution images of the shipwrecks and allowing experienced divers an opportunity to explore the wreck for themselves. To learn more, visit the Lake Michigan Coastal Program webpage.