Day 10: Jacksonport
(September 07, 2004)
This morning Russ Leitz and Jon Van Harpen joined Keith and Tami to begin surveying the Reynold’s Pier site at Jacksonport. Reynold’s Pier was built in 1869 in front of what is now Lakeside Town Park. Primarily used to ship lumber throughout the Great Lakes, Reynold’s Pier was also used to ship grain, fish, and bark for tanning leathers until it was damaged beyond repair by ice in 1938.
The schooner Perry Hannah was anchored offshore waiting out the “Great Alpena Blow” of October 16, 1880, when her anchors dragged and she came ashore and lodged into the center of Reynold’s Pier. Severely damaged, she was pulled aside and abandoned. Five years later on September 8th 1885, the schooner Cecelia met a similar fate when she dragged her anchors while riding out a storm offshore of Reynold’s Pier. She came ashore in nearly the exact spot as the Perry Hannah, and today she still lies between Reynold’s Pier and the Perry Hannah.
Jon briefs Keith and Russ
The Door County Maritime Heritage Society did much research on the site in the 1990’s and Jon Van Harpen briefed the crew this morning on the site and its history. The site is very dynamic with large amounts of shifting sand. Many parts of the wrecks that were visible in the 1990’s are now covered by a foot or more of sand. Some parts that were covered in the 1990’s, however, are now well exposed.
Russ rolls out the baseline
After a morning of site reconnaissance we laid the baseline for our survey. The baseline provides a reference point for our measurements and mapping, allowing us to produce a precise, scaled drawing of the site. Marked in 10-foot increments, our baseline is 200 feet long and is V-shaped to cover the entire wreck site.
The baseline in place
