> On the day it sank, the George L. Newman was transporting lumber from Little Suamico, Wisconsin. Smoke from the Great Peshtigo Fire was so thick that the crew

> On the day it sank, the George L. Newman was transporting lumber from Little Suamico, Wisconsin. Smoke from the Great Peshtigo Fire was so thick that the crew members aboard the George L. Newman could not see where they were going. The ship ran aground near the southeast point of Green Island. Note that the Great Peshtigo Fire, and two other massive fires on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan, occurred simultaneously with the Great Chicago Fire.