Lake Mary Canoe Maritime Trails Marker
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Lake Mary Dugout Canoe Maritime Trails Marker
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Lake Mary Dugout Canoe Maritime Trails Marker at Kenosha Public Museum
 
Details
Attraction
Location
Body of Water: Lake Michigan
Trail Name: Lower Lake Michigan
Year Built: 2006
Nearest Address: Kenosha Public Museum
Nearest City: Kenosha
County: Kenosha
Zip Code: 53140
Latitude: N 42°35.17248'
Longitude: W -087°48.77610'
Attraction
Features
Open to public?: Yes
Mooring buoy?: No
Mooring buoy in place?: No
Snorkelable?: No
Dive guide?: No
Trails sign?: Yes
National Register?: No
Attraction
Description
This two thousand-year-old dugout canoe was discovered in Lake Mary in Kenosha County. The preserved canoe is now on display at the Kenosha Public Museum. Ancient dugout canoes are occasionally preserved when environmental conditions are just right. The canoe above was submerged and waterlogged when it was discovered in 1996 by a twelve-year-old girl and her grandfather in Lake Mary, near Kenosha. They left their find submerged and reported it immediately, allowing Wisconsin Historical Society underwater archaeologists to carefully remove and conserve it. Preserving the dugout required a long process of replacing the water in the wood with a chemical solution that prevents collapse and decay. The 2,000 year old dugout is Wisconsin's oldest known watercraft. Native American dugout and birchbark canoes were efficient and well-suited for traveling and gathering food along Wisconsin's lakes and rivers. During the 1800s, Native Americans paddled large fleets of dugout and birchbark canoes along the Lake Michigan coastline. Once a year they headed to Chicago to receive treaty payments offered in exchange for their land and resources. As many as three hundred travelers would land their canoes on Simmon's Island, not far from here. In one account, Lake Michigan's unpredictable and dangerous weather stranded the boaters on the island for three weeks.
 
Map
 
Nearby
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Arab (1883)
Arkansas (1849)
Cheerio (1935)
City of Madison (1857)
Detroit (1837)
Edna (1877)
Elizabeth (1863)
George Hanson (1847)
Great West (1854)
Hans Crocker (1856)
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