New Lake Erie Shipwreck Discovery

plCongratulations to the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE) on the  discovery and identification of the 2-masted schooner Plymouth.  According to their press release: An unidentified shipwreck was located in June, 1996, by CLUE member Rob Ruetschle in Lake Erie, approximately 20 miles off Cleveland, Ohio. CLUE re-visited and performed an archaeological survey of the wreck during its 2013 and 2014 field seasons. The wreck is colloquially known as the “Cleveland Tiller Wreck” and was identified by others as the schooner Mackinaw. Archaeological data obtain from the underwater survey was compared with CLUE’s extensive archival research to determine the identity of the wreck. After analysis of all the available data CLUE has identified the wreck as the two-masted schooner Plymouth, which sank on the night of June 23, 1852, after a collision with the sidewheel steamer Northern Indiana.  FOX 8 has also aired this news story with video and photos of the shipwreck. There is also an article about the Plymouth published in the Plain Dealer’s cleveland.com.

Side scan sonar image of the Plymouth taken by David M. VanZandt

Posted September 17, 2014
Topics: Archaeology

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