Underwater Archaeological Investigations from the 2015 Field Season
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Fast Sailers & Quick Sands: Underwater Archaeological Investigations from the 2015 Field Season State Archaeology and Maritime Preservation Technical Report Series #16-001 Tamara L. Thomsen and Caitlin N. Zant Assisted by grant funding from the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, the National Sea Grant College Program, and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, this report was prepared by the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservations and Archaeology Program. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, the National Sea Grant College Program, or the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. Note: At the time of publication S.C. Baldwin, Grape Shot, Lookout, Alaska, and La Salle sites are pending listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Nomination packets for each have been prepared and submitted to the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office. Cover photo: Archaeologist Caitlin Zant documents the canaller La Salle off of Rawley Point, north of Two Rivers, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Copyright © 2016 by Wisconsin Historical Society All rights reserved CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS AND IMAGE............................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................... vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1 Research Design and Methodology................................................ 3 2. THE CONVERTED STONE BARGE S.C. BALDWIN.......................... 5 S.C. Baldwin Site Description........................................................ 20 3. THE SCHOONER GRAPE SHOT.......................................................... 30 Grape Shot Site Description........................................................... 36 4. THE SCHOONER LOOKOUT............................................................... 44 Lookout Site Description................................................................ 60 5. THE SCOW SCHOONER ALASKA...................................................... 65 Alaska Site Description.................................................................. 73 4. THE CANALLER LA SALLE................................................................. 80 La Salle Site Description................................................................ 85 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................. 97 8. REFERENCES....................................................................................... 102 ii ILLUSTRATIONS AND IMAGES Figure Page 1. S.C. Baldwin sitting high in the water at dock (C. Patrick Labadie)...... 6 2. S.C. Baldwin at port along with the vessels Herschel of Detroit and Mautenee of Bay City, Michigan (C. Patrick Labadie)................. 11 3. S.C. Baldwin in the foreground loading stone next to the tug Torrent and another barge at the Green Stone Company Dock in Sturgeon Bay (C. Patrick Labadie)................................................................ 18 4. Location of the S.C. Baldwin site........................................................... 21 5. An archaeologist investigates S.C. Baldwin’s stempost and windlass.. 22 6. The upright section of S.C. Baldwin’s port side hull............................... 23 7. S.C. Baldwin’s wooden hogging arch, comprised of three individual timbers............................................................................................ 24 8. An archaeologist investigates the standing stanchions along S.C. Baldwin’s centerline...................................................................... 25 9. S.C. Baldwin’s stern section and transom with its stern capstan in the foreground...................................................................................... 26 10. Site plan of the S.C. Baldwin wreck site............................................... 27 11. S.C. Baldwin’s cargo of cut limestone, located over 5.5 miles northeast of the wreck site............................................................................. 29 12. Eliza Logan, a schooner built to the same specifications as Grape Shot, launched only 26 days later (Historical Collections of the Great Lakes- Bowling Green State University)........................................ 30 13. Location of the Grape Shot site............................................................. 37 14. An archaeologist records the starboard side hull of the schooner Grape Shot................................................................................................. 38 15. Site plan of the schooner Grape Shot.................................................... 39 16. A diver records the starboard side hull of the schooner Grape Shot..... 41 iii 17. Grape Shot’s centerboard and centerboard trunk.................................. 42 18. The bilge of Grape Shot and the fallen centerboard trunk.................... 42 19. The Lookout on Rawley Point shortly after grounding........................ 59 20. Location of the Lookout site.................................................................. 60 21. Aerial view of the Lookout (Suzze Johnson)......................................... 61 22. Site plan of the schooner Lookout......................................................... 62 23. Lookout’s intact starboard side hull...................................................... 64 24. Scow schooner cross section (adapted from Rodgers and Corbin 2003............................................................................................... 67 25. Location of the Alaska site.................................................................... 73 26. Archaeologists investigate Alaska’s bow in low visibility.................... 75 27. The bluff bow of Alaska, looking aft..................................................... 76 28. Site plan of the scow schooner Alaska.................................................. 77 29. Alaska’s port side bow, lodging knee, and kingposts............................ 78 30. Alaska’s windlass and anchor chain...................................................... 79 31. A canaller traversing Lock 4 of the Welland Canal with its bowsprit raised (C. Patrick Labadie)............................................................. 81 32. Location of the La Salle wreck site....................................................... 86 33. Site plan of the canaller La Salle........................................................... 88 34. La Salle’s intact weather deck and bluff bow........................................ 89 35. Archaeologists investigate La Salle’s forecastle, forecastle scuttle, samson post, and chain-pipe holes................................................. 91 36. La Salle’s deck shelf, supported by iron knees...................................... 92 iv 37. La Salle’s starboard side ceiling planking with salt channels and bulwark, with the main rail still attached....................................... 93 38. Intact chainplates located on the starboard side of La Salle................. 94 39. Fouled rigging, including deadeyes and circular hearts, located in La Salle’s hold................................................................................ 95 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The projects within this report were conducted during the summer of 2015 by Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program. The successful completion of this research relied heavily on the hard work and dedication of many different individuals and institutions. Major project funding was provided by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute and Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. None of this research would have been possible without hours of dedication and work conducted by volunteers. These include divers George Mayhew, Matt Schultz, John Janzen, John Scoles, Gayle Orner, Randy Wallander, Matt Groppi, Jay Hanson, and John Nosaine. Ken Merryman and Tom Crossman conducted ROV work, and Jim Robinson and Mike Brodd provided boat support. This season we especially would like to recognize the entire staff of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Conservation Warden Corps for assistance with buoys, boat support, and everything they do to protect our State’s submerged cultural resources. A special thank you goes to former Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Archaeologist, Keith Meverden for his help identifying various shipwreck components and providing additional assistance throughout the past two field seasons. Another special thank you goes to Suzze Johnson who reported the remains of Lookout, Alaska, and La Salle while flying a powered parachute along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in the spring of 2015. These previously unreported wrecks had been inundated with sand and she graciously shared her aerial photographs of the wreck sites. Additional thanks goes to Mike Thuss for also photographing the wrecks from the air and gathering GPS information for each site. Russell Leitz deserves special recognition for his creation and maintenance of the newspaper database of maritime events in Wisconsin. He augmented the newspaper database with extra references of the service histories for each of the shipwrecks worked on over this field season. Furthermore, he was a major contributor to the work conducted during the field school held for Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association (WUAA) and Great Lakes Shipwreck