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Niagara (palace steamer)

1845 ships1856 in the United StatesGreat Lakes shipsMaritime incidents in September 1856National Register of Historic Places in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Paddle steamersPassenger ships of the United StatesShip firesShips built in Buffalo, New YorkShipwrecks of Lake MichiganShipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in WisconsinSteamships of the United StatesTransportation disasters in WisconsinWreck diving sites
Niagara palace steamer 2
Niagara palace steamer 2

The Niagara was a 245-foot (75 m) long sidewheel palace steamer launched in 1846. Like the others of its kind, it carried passengers and cargo around the North American Great Lakes. It was owned by the Collingwood Line. On September 23, 1856, the Niagara left Sheboygan, Wisconsin, headed for Port Washington, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan, carrying 170 passengers and a heavy load of cargo. Fire broke out in the area of the engine room at around 6:00 pm, and the steam engines and the paddlewheels soon stopped. The steamer, which was 4–5 miles offshore, quickly became engulfed in flames and smoke. Efforts to use the fire hose were unsuccessful. The passengers panicked while trying to board the lifeboats, capsizing all but one of them. Many jumped overboard into the water, which was reported to be too cold for anyone to survive in it. Several ships in the area rushed to the scene and rescued most of the passengers. The captain and most of the crew survived, but more than 60 on board perished, making it one of Wisconsin's deadliest transportation disasters. Among those lost was John B. Macy, a former member of the United States Congress.It was reported at the time that the fire was caused by an incendiary. The Captain insisted the fire could not have started in the engine room, because it was fireproof, and blamed combustible cargo stored below. It appears that the cause of the fire was never definitively established. The wreck of the Niagara lies in 55 feet (17 m) of water one mile (1.6 km) off Belgium, Wisconsin.

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Niagara (palace steamer)

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N 43.238333333333 ° E -87.845277777778 °
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Ozaukee County



Wisconsin, United States
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Niagara palace steamer 2
Niagara palace steamer 2
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Mary Nohl Art Environment
Mary Nohl Art Environment

The Mary Nohl Art Environment (also called the Fox Point Art Yard, Fox Point Witch's house and Mary Nohl's house) is a residence in the Milwaukee suburb of Fox Point, Wisconsin. The property, which is filled with folk art created by artist Mary Nohl (1914–2001), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mary's father Leo, a Milwaukee attorney, and his wife Emma bought the lot along Lake Michigan in 1924, and the family enjoyed summers there in a prefab cottage through the 1920s. In 1940 the parents expanded the cottage into a year-round home, adding the house between the cottage and the garage. Shortly after, Mary moved back to Milwaukee and moved into the house with her parents. After a couple years of teaching art in Milwaukee she resigned, and settled in to producing art at her pottery studio in Whitefish Bay, and at her jewelry studio in her parents' home.After the death of her parents, a sizable inheritance left Mary Nohl the chance to create artworks. She used concrete and found objects such as driftwood, wire and glass to build sculptures. In addition, the exterior and interior of the house are colorfully decorated. Hundreds of works have been cataloged. Following Nohl's death, the embellished home and sculpture garden were given to the Kohler Foundation for preservation. In 2012, it was transferred to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. After a fruitless, decade-long struggle with the residents of Fox Point to allow limited access by the public, the foundation decided to move the house and its art to a site in Sheboygan County. The house was to be dismantled, starting in the summer of 2014, and rebuilt, at a cost of between one and two million dollars, but the plan was recently canceled. As of April 2015, the house will remain in Fox Point and is expected to be restored.In addition to her home and artwork, her estate of over $11 million was left to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, which administers the Mary Nohl Foundation to provide arts education for children, and the Mary Nohl Fellowship artists' scholarships among other activities. A biography, Mary Nohl - Inside & Outside, written and designed by Barbara Manger and Janine Smith, respectively, was published in 2008.