Washington: A team has found the 130-foot cargo ship J.S. Seaverns which sank in Michipicoten harbour in 1884. The ship is perfectly-preserved, with its hull intact and dishes still on the shelves.
It was a clear May night in 1884. Crewmen aboard the J.S. Seaverns unloaded food and supplies in the tiny port of Michipicoten on the northeast coast of Lake Superior. But the ship faced a problem soon after it sailed away from the dock. James Campbell, one of the people aboard the ship, reported later that “in backing out we struck a rock, putting a hole in her.”
The ship tried to cross the seven-mile harbor but only made it halfway. The Seaverns sunk, but its 15 crew and 45 passengers survived. Andrew Krueger of Forum News Service said there was talk of trying to salvage the ship and its cargo, but the efforts never materialized. The ship was all but forgotten until recently.
Dan Fountain of Negaunee, Michigan, first learned about the wreck over a decade ago when perusing nautical charts. He tried to research the ship but came up empty. After several years of research, Fountain believed he had pinpointed the area where the ship went down. On July 28, he joined four other wreck divers and spent half a day running sonar to find the wreck. When they located the ship, they sent down a remote camera and found that the vessel is still in remarkable shape.
Though the upper cabins are damaged, the hull is still intact. Dishes are
still sitting on shelves and chairs are arranged around the rooms.
