MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Charles Beeker is on a mission to preserve Indiana’s maritime history by preserving the underwater remains of Lake Michigan shipwrecks.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Indiana University will host a ceremony to dedicate the Muskegon wreck site as an Indiana State Nature Preserve. Photo courtesy of the Indiana University Center for Underwater Studies.
“Michigan City has a long maritime history, and these shipwrecks are emblematic of Michigan City’s maritime history,” said Bieker, director of the Indiana University Underwater Science Center in Bloomington.
IU and the state are working together to protect the site for science and the public, Beaker said by phone from his boat, which is anchored about 35 feet above the Muskegon wreckage.
“We’re really pleased to receive this continuing grant funding from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to support IU,” said Bieker, a clinical professor at Bloomington’s School of Public Health.
“We’ve been given several years of funding to come here and continue our work. It’s a great place for new divers and for the general public.”
Beaker and the center have been researching and working to protect the Muskegon shipwreck since 2000. This week, a team of graduate students and researchers have been donning scuba gear and diving to gather data and take videos and photos for the study.
“We’re currently on our second day here at the IU field school, documenting the site and looking at not only the archaeology but the biology of the site,” Beaker said.
The DNR grant will pay for research and improvements, including mooring lines, marker buoys and a 400-pound limestone monument with a copper plate that Beaker’s team is installing in the deep water near the remains of the sunken ship.
The sinking of the Muskegon
According to the DNR, the wooden ship Muskegon caught fire and sank in October 1910 while unloading a cargo of sand at a dock in Michigan City.
Unlike other shipwrecks of the time, the fire on the Muskegon caused no fatalities or injuries and is believed to have been caused by kerosene or oil residue near the boiler.
The sunken ship blocked the pier until June 1911, when local residents refloated it, towed it out, and sank it in deeper waters, according to the DNR.
Preservation of the remains
The Muskegon now lies at the bottom of Lake Michigan, about a quarter mile from the shore near Mount Baldy in Indiana Dunes National Park.
A 3-D rendering of the Muskegon wreckage site shows the roughly 120-foot wooden hull, along with boilers, propellers, shafts and other metal parts still lying on the sandy bottom.
The Muskegon was Indiana’s first shipwreck to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bieker said, and on Thursday the site will officially become an Indiana State Nature Preserve.
Beeker said the wreck is an important reminder of Indiana’s place in maritime history. Before the invention of air travel and interstate travel, ships sailing on the Great Lakes were an important way to transport people and goods throughout the Midwest and Canada, Beeker said.
“This was a big port at the turn of the century, with ships and trains coming through and it was a big tourist destination,” Beeker said. “If you look on eBay for historic postcards of Michigan City, they’re all related to the maritime and the ships that passed through here.”
The research is part of Beaker’s more than 30-year history at IU. He has directed the academic diving program since 1984 and became the founding director of the Underwater Science Center in 1991.
Beeker said the center’s work has transformed three California shipwrecks and one Florida shipwreck into underwater state parks. The center has also identified and placed nine ships on a “shipwreck trail” in the Florida Keys and created five “living museums” in the Dominican Republic.
“We’ve done a lot internationally and now we’re excited to work stateside and recognise our maritime heritage,” Mr Beaker said.
Public Dedication
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Indiana University will host a ceremony to open the Muskegon wreck site as an Indiana State Nature Preserve.
When: Thursday, July 18, from 1:30 to 4 PM CDT (2:30 to 5 PM EDT).
Location: Old Lighthouse Museum, 100 Heisman Harbor Road, Michigan City, Indiana.
