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This summer a team of archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society will continue documenting Wisconsin's historic scow schooners. This study began in 2005 following the discovery of the Ocean Wave off Door County, and will continue this summer with the archaeological documentation of the scows Silver Lake and Lade Ellen.
The Silver Lake is a 105-ton, two-masted scow schooner that was built in Little Point Sable, Michigan, in 1889. She sailed in the Lake Michigan lumber trade until she collided with the Pere Marquette on 28 May 1900. Today, she lies upright and intact in 210 feet of water northeast of Sheboygan. Her hull is fractured from the collision, but her foremast remains standing with a rigged yard.
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Divers inspect the intact hull of the Silver Lake. Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society. |
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The Lady Ellen is a 42-ton, two-masted scow schooner that was built in Ahnapee (now Algoma), Wisconsin. She was later rebuilt and enlarged at Algoma, and spent much of her career carrying commodities and goods to and from that community. She eventually outlived her usefulness and was abandoned in the Ahnapee River in 1907. Today, her lower hull remains where she was abandoned, and is often visible protruding from the river during periods of low water.
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The remains of the hull of the Lady Ellen are easy to view from shore. Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society.
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This summer's research will add to the growing list of scow schooners that have been documented in Wisconsin waters, including the Ocean Wave, Iris, Tennie and Laura, and Daniel Hayes. Although the scow schooner was vital to many early Lake Michigan communities, this vessel class is poorly documented in the historic record and their construction and use are poorly understood today. The archaeological surveys of the Silver Lake and Lady Ellen will greatly contribute our knowledge and understanding of this poorly-understood vessel class and its role in shaping Wisconsin.
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