 Rouse Simmons tied up to dock ca. 1900 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Rouse Simmons |
| Builder | |
| Launched | August 15, 1868 |
| Identification | US 110087 |
| Nickname(s) | "Christmas Tree Ship" |
| Fate | Foundered and sunk on November 23, 1912 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Three mastschooner |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 123.5 ft (37.6 m) |
| Beam | 27.6 ft (8.4 m) |
| Height | 8.4 ft (2.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Crew | 5 |
| Notes | 17 persons lost in sinking |
Rouse Simmons (shipwreck) | |
   | |
| Location | Lake Michigan, 6 miles (9.7 km) off Point Beach,Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 44°16′30.6″N87°24′56.4″W / 44.275167°N 87.415667°W /44.275167; -87.415667 |
| MPS | Great Lakes Shipwreck Sites of Wisconsin MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000197[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 21, 2007 |
TheRouse Simmons was a three-mastedschooner famous for having sunk in a violent storm onLake Michigan in 1912. The ship was bound forChicago with a cargo ofChristmas trees when it foundered offTwo Rivers, Wisconsin, killing all on board.
The legacy of the schooner lives on in the area, with frequentghost sightings and tourist attractions whereby its final route is traced.[2][3] It was known asThe Christmas Tree Ship and was one of many schooners to transport Christmas trees across the lake. However, with railroads, highways, and tree farms proving much more economical, the tree-shipping industry was on a steep decline and by 1920 they stopped sailing.
TheRouse Simmons was built inMilwaukee in 1868 by Allan, McClelland, & Company, and named afterKenosha businessmanRouse Simmons. The schooner was soon purchased by wealthy lumber magnate Charles H. Hackley ofMuskegon, Michigan and joined his sizeable fleet. Hackley's ships served across most of Lake Michigan's coastline, and theRouse Simmons became a workhorse, shipping lumber from company mills to several ports around the lake for around 20 years. At its peak the schooner was making almost weekly runs betweenGrand Haven and Chicago.[4]
After its service for Hackley the ship exchanged hands several times. Many similar schooners were also frequently sold and they became known as "tramp ships".[3] In 1910 Herman Schuenemann bought an interest in the ship, expanding that to an eighth in 1912. The other shares were owned by Captain Charles Nelson of Chicago, who owned one eighth and would sail alongside Schuenemann on the fatal journey, and three fourths (the commanding share) were owned by Mannes J. Bonner, a businessman fromSt. James, Michigan.[4]
The Schuenemann brothers, Herman and August, began trading Christmas trees in Chicago in the 1890s.[5] August died in November 1898 aboard theS. Thal – a 52-ton, two-masted schooner – when it sank in a storm nearGlencoe, Illinois. His younger brother continued the family business. While many rival traders had sold to wholesalers and local grocers, Schuenemann sold directly to Chicago residents at dockside byClark Street Bridge. By cutting out the middleman in this way the trees could be sold cheaply while still making a profit. The venture used the slogan "Christmas Tree Ship: My Prices are the Lowest", with electricChristmas lights and a tree atop the main mast. The trees were sold for between 50 cents and $1, but Herman Schuenemann, affectionately known as "Captain Santa", also gave away some of the trees to needy families.[3][4]
| Christmas Tree Ship | |
|---|---|
 Michigan state historic marker whence theRouse Simmons departed for its final voyage | |
| Location | U.S. Route 2 Thompson Township, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 45°54′24.3″N86°19′28.0″W / 45.906750°N 86.324444°W /45.906750; -86.324444 |
| Designated | April 13, 2006 |
 Location within the state of Michigan | |
Schuenemann loaded the schooner with 5,500 trees from Thompson Harbor nearManistique, Michigan and planned to make the week-long journey to Chicago. The difficult weather had discouraged his competitors from making their own journeys, and snow had covered the tree farms in Michigan and Wisconsin.[6] He hoped that the resultant shortage of Christmas trees would lead to a huge profit and solve his financial problems.[3]
By 1912, November already had a reputation for especially violent storms on the Great Lakes. November 1912, however, had been relatively quiet, with only one significant storm so far, which affected especially southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio.[7] (The reports that say another storm had already taken many lives and ships that month[6] are erroneous, confusing 1912 with theBig Blow of 1913.) Still, a second storm was brewing. The conditions of the day were very poor, with many ships anchoring in port for shelter to avoid being battered by the 60-mile-per-hour (52 kn; 97 km/h) winds that could be anticipated in a November gale.
Local legends say that some sailors refused to board the ship and that the vessel was unseaworthy. Two years earlier the schooner had been towed to port byThe Grand Haven Tribune after it was found riding low in the water. Despite this the journey began at noon, with trees crammed into every possible corner of the ship. The weight of the trees was far above recommendations, especially in the bad winter weather, and was certainly going to contribute to the tragedy. During the night, with storms hitting theSimmons hard, two sailors were sent to check the lashings on deck. Both seamen were swept overboard by a giant wave that collected them, many bundled trees, and a small boat. Now that the schooner was slightly lighter and more maneuverable, Captain Schuenemann directed it towards Bailey's Harbor. Suddenly, and tragically, the storms worsened; ice formed on the sodden trees and winds battered the hull.[6]
When theKewaunee Life Saving Station spotted theRouse Simmons on 23 November 1912 it was low in the water with tattered sails, flying its flag at half mast to signal that it was in distress. Logs from the station show that a surfman spotted theSimmons at 2:50pm and alerted station keeper Nelson Craite. Craite found that the station's gas tugboat had left earlier in the day and, at 3:10pm, Craite telephoned the nearest other Station. George E. Sogge of Two Rivers, located just south of Kewaunee, sent out thepower boatTuscarora on a rescue mission, but theSimmons was not seen again.[4]
TheSimmons was not the only ship to go down during the storm, with theSouth Shore, theThree Sisters, and theTwo Brothers suffering similar fates.[4]
In December 1912 Christmas trees and wreckage were reported ashore atPentwater, Michigan.[8]In 1924 a fishing net trawled up a wallet belonging to Captain Schuenemann. The wallet, well preserved because it was wrapped inoilskin, contained business cards, a newspaper clipping and an expense memorandum.[9] In 1971 the wreck itself was discovered byscuba diver Gordon Kent Bellrichard from Milwaukee. Bellrichard was searching for theVernon, a 177-foot, 700-ton steamer that had sunk in a storm in October 1887, and had been told about an area in which local fishermen had frequently snagged their nets. When hissonar appeared to have located something he dived down to ashipwreck on the bed of the lake 172 feet (52 m) below. Despite his light failing, Bellrichard managed to survey the wreckage with his hands and concluded that he had instead found theSimmons.[4]
Aforensic study of the wreck suggested that the ship hadsteerage and was sailing for shelter when it sank. Themizzen mast snapped off above the deck and the upper portion was not located. Themain mast was found forward and to the port side of the wreck with the base missing. Theforemast is intact and lies nearly parallel but on top of the main mast suggesting at least one of these masts fell out of the mast step as the ship sank.[10]
Many of the trees are still in the ship's hold, though two were extracted and shown as exhibits. Several items recovered from theRouse Simmons are now housed in Rogers Street Fishing Village Museum in Two Rivers, including the ship's wheel. The ship'sanchor was retrieved and now stands at the entrance to theMilwaukee Yacht Club.[4] The wreck is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places[11] and lies within the boundaries of theWisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary.[12]
The Christmas Tree Ship lived on through Schuenemann's wife, Barbara, and their two daughters. However, in the latter years they chose to transport the trees by train and merely used a boat as a platform for sale.[3] The practice of transporting trees by schooner ceased in 1920,[4] and the increasing popularity of railways, highways and tree farms soon made it easier and more affordable for everyone to buy a tree.[13]
For seven years past, Captain Scheunemann has brought a big cargo of lycopodium, evergreen boughs, and Christmas trees to Chicago, and sold them direct to people from his schooner.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1912 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
