Lottie Cooper Shipwreck in Sheboygan

 I am and will probably always be a major museum geek.  And honestly, it doesn't matter if the museum is 'open air' or closed in, what matters is that the museum is interesting.   The remains of the Lottie Cooper, pieced together and laid out as it was when it was before sinking.  

Actually I don't think I've ever seen a museum that wasn't interesting in one form or another.  I feel that anything that encapsulates even a small pocket of history is interesting.   

I was fortunate enough to visit a friend in Sheboygan this past June and we went to the harbor and she showed me the remains of the Lottie Cooper.  The Lottie Cooper was a three masted schooner that went down in a storm in 1896 just off the coast of Sheboygan in Lake Michigan.   The remains of the ship were found during the dredging and construction of the Harbor Marina.  They are now on display in Deland Park, and you can walk along the wreck, see the various plaques detailing how the ship was laid out.   And of course being me, I took lots of pictures.  

I was blown away by how the handmade spikes were pushed through the wood to anchor the giant slabs of wood together.  You can see that each of the nails/spikes were handmade by the fact that they are not uniform.  It just amazes me that they survived. 

Here are the plaques describing the various parts of the ship.

I was fascinated, not only by the fact that so much of the ship had been recovered and set into place, but also by the shear size of the timbers, and the ironwork needed and used to put the ship together. 

I got carried away with pictures, and as is usual for me, thought of the pictures I should have taken, and I may still take them.   I may just have to plan another visit to Sheboygan, and side benefit, I do have a friend there who would love to show me around the city a little more. 

I'm actually planning a return trip to Sheboygan and surrounds, so much to see and do.