Shipwreck found - St. Clair River wall

[diver_paula]

A friend sent me this link from the today's Detroit News. Sounds really cool. & an easy way to share shipwrecks with non-divers.

A copy of the story from the following link is below.
www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0405/19/b07e-157055.htm

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Developer to leave shipwreck alone
Schooner was found during work along the St. Clair River wall

Associated Press

PORT HURON — A development company plans to keep a St. Clair River shipwreck in place after it was unearthed by construction crews working on a public walkway at the former Winkworth Transit Co.

The shipwreck, found in January, is on Acheson Ventures LLC’s property along the St. Clair River sea wall near the Black River.

Historians believe the ship was sunk intentionally — a common practice used to reinforce or create new sea walls. Historians believe other wrecks of the same type are along the St. Clair River.

The ship, which workers have built a walkway over part of, is considered a schooner barge. It is about 135 feet long and more than 100 years old.

Michael DeLong, Acheson Ventures’ project manager, told the Times Herald for a Saturday story that construction work in the water is complete. The shipwreck will be open for public viewing around the end of summer.

The left bow portion will be covered by the walkway and the stern portions of the ship will be left visible.

Brian Martin, 44, a Fort Gratiot resident and diver, agreed with the decision to keep the vessel in one piece.

“Leaving it in place will give the public a visible reference of what Port Huron’s past used to be,” he said.

Pat Labadie, a state historian, said keeping the vessel under water and buried will help prevent it from further deterioration.

“It sounds like a negative impact, but in fact it will preserve it,” Labadie said.

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

I'm glad it will be left there & open for public viewing. I haven't heard any news about it in a while.

Here's the article about it from way back when...
http://www.thetimesherald.com/news/stories/20040214/localnews/413289.html

Sea wall work unearths shipwreck
Century-old vessel probably sunk intentionally, historians say
By CHRIS SEBASTIAN
Times Herald
Saturday, February 14, 2004

HISTORIC DISCOVERY: The starboard side of a ruined wooden ship sticks out of the St. Clair River south of the Black River. Workers installing a sea wall found the remains of the 19th century vessel last month.

Work on a new public waterfront walkway in Port Huron hit a very old snag, and historians couldn't be happier.

Construction crews unearthed a century-old shipwreck in the St. Clair River, at the mouth of the Black River. Historians consider the ship, which likely was sunk there intentionally, a significant find. Work is under way to determine its identity.

The wooden ship is about 135 feet long and 31 feet wide. The stern is missing, and researchers believe the ship could have been 150 feet long, roughly the same as the local tall ship Highlander Sea. Historians estimate the sunken ship was built in the late 1800s.

Workers from Acheson Ventures discovered the wreck last month as they continued to refurbish the waterfront area at the old Winkworth Transit Co. building on First Street. Acheson Ventures, the development company formed by businessman and philanthropist Jim Acheson, bought the property in March 2002.

As workers dug away at the sea wall to build a new walking path, they uncovered the ship's starboard side, Acheson Ventures spokesman Paul Maxwell said.

Work on the walking path is continuing around the vessel, until a decision is made about its fate.

The ship forms the foundation of the sea wall, and is filled with rocks, bricks and other debris. Because of where it was discovered, the ship's sinking probably was no accident, said Wayne Lusardi, a maritime architect for the state.

"It has all the appearance of having been placed there intentionally," Lusardi said.

Over the past 100 years, land owners would increase property size using old vessels that were no longer seaworthy.

"These (ships) were hauled into position and sunk and filled to create new ... waterfront space," state archeologist John Halsey said.

This ship is entombed by concrete and rubble. Halsey said the find is exciting because many of the ships buried for this purpose still are covered.

Because of the ship's poor condition, researchers say they never may know its identity. The question they have is what to do with the find.

Port Huron Museum Curator T.J. Gaffney said he hopes it is preserved.

"You really have an unbelievable asset here. You couldn't have bought this," he said.

If the ship is removed from the water, it could disintegrate, Gaffney said. But because it hasn't seen open water for years, the waves and current of the St. Clair River also may cause damage.

Acheson Ventures will listen to recommendations from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which gives permission for waterfront construction, and historians before making a decision, Maxwell said.

"We're kind of in a holding pattern until we can find out what exactly what we can and can't do."

 

[Bob3]

The whole area around Sturgeon Bay WI was all made up of old ships like that.
We'd have to rip the critters in half sometimes. The wood still had fresh sap in it & the oakum used for caulking between the planks would even be sticky yet.