The cold fresh water of Minnesota’s lakes and rivers have preserved an important part of history due to the many shipwrecks. Each one is a unique and integral part of the fabric of America's maritime heritage. They provide an exciting opportunity to explore the past.
 In the interest of preserving Minnesota's Lake Superior shipwrecks and other
 underwater archaeological sites in Minnesota’s lakes and rivers, the State Historic Preservation Office of the Minnesota Historical Society has initiated a program of submerged cultural resource management.
 Native Americans were the first to use Lake Superior's waters as a source of food and transportation. Their special crafts consisted of handcrafted birch bark canoes. The first Europeans paddled birch bark canoes and bateaux to support exploration and trade on Lake Superior beginning in the 1600s. In the 1700s, a rapidly growing fur trade led to the development of larger cargo-carrying vessels such as double-ended York boats and mackinaws.
 By the end of the 18th century, a number of merchant ships, mostly small lake schooners, were sailing on Lake Superior. They engaged in trade and transportation between Sault Sainte Marie and trading stations at the western end of the lake.
 Late in the 19th century, as settlements became cities, Lake Superior navigation grew and larger vessels were developed to transport massive cargos. The products included lumber, iron and ore. When the railroads connected Duluth and Superior to the join rest of the Midwest, wheat and corn became important bulk cargos as well.