ELGIN, Illinois — The wreck of a luxury passenger steamship that sank more than 150 years ago has been found at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
A news release from Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate sunken ships around the world, says a team led by shipwreck hunter and scuba diver Paul Ehorn found the Lac La Belle in October 2022 about 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Lac La Belle, a 217-foot steamer, was built in Cleveland in 1864, according to Shipwreck World. She initially ran from Cleveland to Lake Superior.
The ship actually sank twice, the first time in 1866 after a collision on the St. Clair River. She was raised from 25 feet of water in 1869 and completely restored…