4 August 2005 Daniel Lyons, Algoma
(August 04, 2005)
Fog and heavy seas persisted, canceling dive operations on the Daniel Lyons for today, but the team traveled up the Ahnapee River to view the remains of the locally-built scow schooner Lady Ellen. Built in Algoma in the nineteenth century by Captain William Henry, the Lady Ellen was abandoned between Algoma’s two downtown bridges in 1898. Surveyed in 1991 by Pat Labadie, the Lady Ellen’s bottom planking and centerboard trunk remain visible above the water’s surface.
Lady Ellen visible above the water
During the afternoon the team met with ‘Jag’, a local businessman active in preserving Algoma’s maritime heritage. Jag owns the historic Dettman Fish Shanty and is in the process of converting it to a maritime museum featuring local vessels and captains, including Captain Schueneman, a former Algoma resident and Captain of the lost Christmas tree ship, the Rouse Simmons. Exhibits feature Algoma commercial fishermen and fish tugs, locally built schooners, historic vessels that frequented the Algoma docks, and a large collection of the shipbuilding tools used in the construction of Lady Ellen and Bessie Boalt (the largest schooner built in Algoma). The museum is available for viewing by appointment.
Jag gives a tour at Dettman Fish Shanty
After the museum tour, the team helped hoist a new mast onto the deck of the Elizabeth, the largest boat ever built by the Matthews yard in Port Clinton, Ohio. Bill Matheson gave the team a tour of the beautifully appointed wooden yacht. Built in 1924, Bill’s restoration of the Elizabeth is a labor of love that has spanned 15 years with still much work remaining.
A new mast for
Elizabeth WHS photos by Tamara Thomsen
