A father and daughter found ship wreckage connected to the deadliest fire in U.S. history.Photo:Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
A routine fishing trip on Lake Michigan led a father and daughter duo todiscover a shipwreckthat’s over 150 years old.
Tim Wollack and his daughter Henley were fishing in the Green Bay near Green Island, Wisconsin, when they made the discovery, according to a statement from theWisconsin Historical Society (WHS). Initially, 6-year-old Henley thought they found a “Green Bay Octopus,” but they eventually learned that it was a sunken ship.
Upon researching his findings, Wollack believed he found the wreck of theErie L. Hackleyfrom 1882. Then, after working with Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources, they discovered that the wreckage was from the barkentine ship called theGeorge L. Newman.
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George L. Newmanwas sailing on the lake the evening of October 8, 1871, with cargo from the town of Little Suamico when it got caught in the thick smoke of the Great Peshtigo Fire — the deadliest fire in U.S. history, the WHS post explained. According to theNational Weather Service, over 1,200 people died in the fire.
The ship’s crew survived the Great Peshigo Fire of 1871.Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archeologist at WHS who worked on identifying the wreckage, told the local news outlet that the discovery was “even more special” because it was connected to the historical fire.
source: people.com
