Encounter Atlas
Historic encounters / Wisconsin
5 old newspaper reports of strange things in Wisconsin. Sea serpents and lake monsters (3); Wild men (1); Mystery airships, 1896-97 (1). Each links to the original page.
Lake Michigan, later off Death's Door, Wisconsin approx. · Nov. 1884
A tug captain, Dick Brewer, said a large black monster surfaced ahead of his boat as he towed a mud scow past the Marine Hospital, setting off talk among sailors. Fishermen later reported it again off Death's Door.
Lake Ripley, Wisconsin approx. · Aug. 1, 1896
A Chicago Tribune piece said the Lake Ripley serpent was snatching sheep, swallowing calves and chickens, cracking the winter ice and tossing the swimmers' diving floats around.
Probably a hoax or tall tale Written as summer-resort comedy.
Annaton, Wisconsin · Aug. 22, 1896
Several people near Annaton in Grant County reported a man with no clothes running wild through the woods and brush along the roads. The sheriff went out to investigate.
Rock Lake, Lake Mills, Wisconsin · Aug. 28, 1896
A Watertown paper said fishermen had long reported a huge serpent or water beast in Rock Lake that broke their lines. A Chicago alderman said he had battled it and that it had feet and scales like an alligator, and an old resident claimed it once towed his boat for several rods.
Near Appleton, Wisconsin · April 14, 1897
A message said to have been dropped from the airship was found in a red stocking near Appleton. It named the craft Pegasus, and papers asked whether it was a canard.
Probably a hoax or tall tale Almost certainly a prank; the papers themselves suspected a canard.
Newspaper pages: Library of Congress, Chronicling America (US newspapers published before 1927 are in the public domain). Text search: American Stories (Dell, Bryan, Carlson and others, CC BY 4.0). Summaries are our own. Place data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).