The Marquette Regional History Center presents: A Most Outlandish Place The Wreck of the J. S. Seaverns

The Marquette Regional History Center presents A Most Outlandish Place, The Wreck of the J.S. Seaverns. November 7th 6:30-8 p.m.

In the spring of 1884, the small wooden steamer J.S. Seaverns called at the remote Lake Superior port of Michipicoten Harbour, carrying much-needed supplies and provisions for the workers building the Canadian Pacific Railroad along the North Shore. Striking a rock while leaving the dock, the vessel filled and sank with no lives lost. After unsuccessful attempts to locate and salvage the Seaverns, the boat was forgotten for more than a century. Discovered in the summer of 2016, the wreck lies beautifully preserved in the cold, clear depths of Lake Superior. In his presentation, Dan Fountain will tell of the history, the sinking, the crew’s stories, and the search for the Seaverns, utilizing historical photos and new underwater video.

About the presenter: Daniel R. Fountain

Dan Fountain is a diver and maritime historian with an avid interest in the rich and colorful history of the early Great Lakes shipping industry. He grew up in Ishpeming and spent his summers on the shores of Lake Superior. His first shipwreck “dive” took place at age eight – holding his breath and swimming down six feet to explore the scattered wreckage of the schooner George Sherman at Shot Point near the family camp. For more than three decades, Dan has been diving, researching and searching for the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes.

Dan is the author of Michigan Gold and Silver: Mining in the Upper Peninsula, is co-author with Frederick Stonehouse of Dangerous Coast: Shipwrecks of the Pictured Rocks, and has written for Michigan History Magazine and Rocks and Minerals. He has also served as a guest lecturer aboard Great Lakes cruise ships.

$5.00 Suggested Donation. For more info visit marquettehistory.org or call 906-226-3571.