Protecting the Port Multi-Cache
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This is a multicache that will take you to two places in Milwaukee that tell the story of the Milwaukee's current and past life savers. There is a distance of approximately 3.5 miles from beginning to end along city streets. The final is a micro - so please bring a pen!
At 10PM on 9 September 1875, the 157 ft long three-masted barkentine TANNER departed Milwaukee for Buffalo with a cargo of wheat. Upon leaving the harbor, she was struck by a squall that preceded a northeast gale which stripped the vessel of her sails. The TANNER dropped her anchor in four fathoms of water. The tug F.C. MAXON initially came to her aid but the storm raged and they were unable to secure a tow line which forced them to abandon the rescue attempt. The TANNER was left "off the harbor piers at the entrance to the river east of Railroad Street" (At the end of Greenfield Ave. off present day Jones Island). As the night advanced, the storm increased. At 4AM on 10 September 1875, the TANNER was carried into the pilings of the piers, which broke her keel just forward of her mizzenmast. The vessel sank to her decks. Her captain, M.D. Howard, and her crew of nine took to the rigging where they stayed all night, exposed to the cold temperatures, wind, and rain. At daybreak, the U.S. revenue cutter ANDREW JOHNSON sent their small boat commanded by First Lieutenant Barstow to attempt a rescue, but the boat swamped in the heavy seas, losing her oars, life preservers, and lines; her boatswain was carried overboard, but he was recovered. With the failure of the ANDREW JOHNSON's crew to reach the barkentine, a local effort was made. Mr. Chris Starke obtained a dump scow from the shipyard of Wolfe & Davidson. It was to be towed behind the tug J.J. HAGERMAN and brought alongside the TANNER as a breakwater barrier for the lifeboat or yawl from the steamer AMAZON. Before the boats could be set in place alongside the wreckage, Captain Howard and the cook jumped and attempted to swim for shore. The Captain drowned soon after leaving the wreck, but the cook with the assistance of Clement Hackney of the Milwaukee Iron Company, was successfully landed near Bayview. As the tug, dump scow and yawl drifted down alongside the TANNER the remaining 8 crew members dropped into the water one at a time and were picked up by the yawl, which was drawn up to the scow and was in turn, towed to shore where the victims received treatment. All six of the volunteers in the yawl received life-saving medals of the second class by the U.S. Life-Saving Service. A Life Saving Station at Milwaukee had been authorized by Congress several years prior to the TANNER accident, but funding and progress in building the station was very slow.
Because of the TANNER's loss, an appeal was made for immediate action and in the spring of 1876 a boathouse for a U.S. Life Boat Station was erected at a cost of $5,000 and on 7 May 1877 Station No. 10 opened operation for its first season.
**At the first waypoint it is not necessary nor should you attempt to enter the property! All information can be gathered from the street.**
43 00.078
087 53.341
Use the name on the current home of Milwaukee’s life savers to solve the clue to the next waypoint.
U.S. COAST GUARD _ _ _ _ _ _ LAKE MICHIGAN
1 2 3 4 5 6
TC 0C.0RE
087 OC.EOC
The final is located at the spot where the Old Coast Guard Station in Milwaukee once stood. The Life Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915 to become the U.S. Coast Guard. The structure that once stood at this spot was completed in April of 1916 and remained in service until 1949. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 but soon fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2009. The retaining walls for the boat house bays and cuts in the shoreline are all that remains of the home of Milwaukee's first lifesavers and their heroic efforts that began from this spot.
This cache was placed as a partnership with Wisconsin Historical Society, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, and Milwaukee County Parks through the National Park Service’s Maritime Heritage Grant. A Geocache Placement Notification Form has been submitted to Milwaukee County Parks. We hope you enjoyed learning about Milwaukee’s Life Saving Service History. To learn more about Wisconsin’s maritime heritage please visit our other geocaches in the Milwaukee area and throughout the state, or visit wisconsinshipwrecks.org and maritimetrails.org!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba n zntarg FJ pbeare. Hc uvtu ohg haqre sbbg.
Treasures
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