OutdoorIllinois June 2006 Underwater Museums ... - Illinois DNR

The cold waters of Lake Michigan help preserve for theages a wealth of underwater resources.(Photo by Jim Jarecki.)Underwater MuseumsStory By Kathy AndrewsPhotos By Cris KohlThe waters off Chicago’s MagnificentMile are known for incrediblefishing opportunities. Anglersanxiously await the annual runsof Coho and chinook salmon, yellowperch, smallmouth bass and rainbow,lake and brown trout.Sportsmen of a different sort spendhours beneath those waters, watchingfish found congregating in and aroundanother fascinating resource—LakeMichigan’s shipwrecks.Illinois is a water-rich state, borderedby 880 miles of rivers and an additional87,100 miles of rivers and streams withinits borders. But it is the approximately 1million acres of Lake Michigan that Illinoisowns that make this a maritime state.This network of waterways is whatmade Illinois a hub for distribution ofgoods and services throughout the frontier.With hundreds of ships plying thewaters daily, casualties occurred. Somedue to nature (shallow water, dangerouscurrent, sandbars, a lack of natural har-bors, ice, unexpected storms), others tomechanical or human error. Within theGreat Lakes lie an estimated 6,000 to10,000 shipwrecks, with several hundredwithin Illinois’ portion of Lake Michigan.An estimated 195 steamships liewrecked on the beds of the Mississippiand Illinois rivers.“There are a number of popularshallow and rewarding Lake MichiganJust off the Chicago beach front,divers can explore the Straits ofMackinac (above), scuttled in 2003,and the Wells Burt, a three-mastedschooner that sank in 1883.10 / OutdoorIllinois June 2006

shipwreck dive sites a short boat ridefrom the Chicago shoreline,” said CrisKohl, a former high school English andhistory teacher who wrote his first bookon the Great Lakes maritime history in1985, spurring a career change to thepublication world.The cold, fresh water of Lake Michiganhas helped preserve wooden structureson the Wells Burt for 123 years.(Photo by Chet Childs.)Photographed as it was purposelysank in 2000, structures on the HollyBarge now support a diversity ofplant, invertebrate and fish life.With more than 2,000 dives underhis belt, Kohl is intimately familiar withGreat Lakes wrecks.“Some of the best shipwrecks in theworld are the cold-water museums lyingwithin the waters of the Great Lakes,”Kohl explained. “Within a few decadesof going down, marine worms penetrateand obliterate wooden ships submergedin saltwater environments. The combinationof cold, fresh water and absenceof those organisms creates an environmentsuitable for the long-term preservationof shipwrecks.”Before you dig out your dive gear orsign up for a class, a word of caution isin order. Lake Michigan diving conditionsare different from the clear, warmwaters many certified divers are accustomedto, and many have not attainedthe level of expertise required for shipwrecks(wreck diver certification isrequired for penetration dives). Contacta local dive establishment for informa-June 2006 OutdoorIllinois / 11

Modern-day piratesand claim-jumpersbewareShipwrecks—the physical structure andartifacts in and around it—are protectedby federal and state laws, and wrecksin Illinois waters more than 50 years oldbelong to the state. While diving is permittedon such shipwrecks, removing, disturbingor damaging any part of the shipwreckor the associated artifacts is prohibited bystate and federal laws and subject to variouscriminal and civil penalties.Covered under the federal AbandonedShipwreck Act of 1987 are the wrecks andartifacts on the bottom of the 1 million acresof Lake Michigan Illinois owns. In 1990 asthe Chief Archaeologist with the Illinois HistoricPreservation, Tom Emenson authoredthe state Archaeological and PaleontologicalAct. Now an Adjunct Professor inanthropology with the University of Illinoisand director of the Illinois TransportationArchaeology Research Program, Emensonexplained that in Illinois, shipwrecks areconsidered archaeological resources andreceive protections similar to historic andprehistoric human skeletal remains,mounds, earthworks, forts and village sites.A dive on the tug Tacoma offers everythingfrom scores of gobies peekingfrom holes within the zebra musselencrustedboiler to panoramic views ofthe double expansion steam enginebeneath the shadow of the dive boat.tion on classes and accessing wrecks.The latest Lake Michigan wreck, thesteel ferry The Straits of Mackinac, wasintentionally sunk in April 2003 and isproviding scientists and recreationaldivers an opportunity to observe howaquatic creatures colonize a new habitat.“Within weeks of sinking, divers wereobserving fish in and around the ship,”said Patrick Hammer, owner of ScubaEmporium and one of the forces behind(Photos by Tony Kiefer.)the project to receive state and federalclearance to scuttle The Straits of Mackinacas a dive site. “The food chainstarted developing almost immediately,with small perch, bass and crayfishquickly finding protective cover insidethe wreck. It also didn’t take long forzebra mussels to start attaching to theship and divers are keeping a vigilanteye on the boat’s hull and recording therate of infestation.”“While there is no active search takingplace, we know a number of unexploredAfter years of service as a sailingvessel, the 1889 Rotarian was dockedand used as dance hall and restaurant.Bottles remain in the boat 75 yearsafter it was scuttled.(Photos by Tony Kiefer.)12 / OutdoorIllinois June 2006

Whether floating above shipwrecks orpenetrating the hull after earningadvanced certifications, divers absorba historical perspective of Illinois.wrecks exist—some we know the locationof, others we have vague history on,”Kohl explained. “We’ve yet to find thelocation of many of the old ships filledwith garbage in the 1920s and 1930s andscuttled 8 to 12 miles off shore.”And the dive sites are not restrictedto ships in Lake Michigan.Kohl elaborated: “At several locationsin the Great Lakes, including a site offChicago’s shoreline, petrified treestumps stand—remnants of forests presentmore than 7,500 years ago, sometimeafter glaciers sculpted the land nowknown as Illinois. Scattered throughoutthe lake are at least 150 World War IIplanes, put there by pilots unsuccessfulPopular WrecksBuilt in 1873, the 201-foot, three-mastedschooner the Wells Burt sank during a stormin May 1883. The 11 crew and a load of coalwere lost. The boat sits in 38 to 45 feet of waterapproximately 3 miles east of Evanston.On July 29, 1936 after foundering with aload of sand and gravel, 15 of the 22 crew onboard lost their lives when the 239-foot MaterialServices barge sank 7 years after it waslaunched. Today, the nearly intact barge lies in22 to 38 feet of water about 2,000 feet northeastof the Calumet Harbor Light.Near Chicago’s Clark Point Shoal and RainbowPark, 2.5 miles north- northwest of theCalumet Harbor Light, is the Tacoma. The 73-foot-long wooden steam-powered tug sank in1929 and lies 27 to 35 feet beneath the surface.Resting on the lake bed, at a depth of nearly85 feet, is the 1889 wooden steamer the Rotarian.After being abandoned as a sailing vessel,the Rotarian was docked and used as a Chicagodance hall and restaurant. It was scuttled in1931 8.2 miles east-northeast of the Chicagoharbor entrance to Lake Michigan.The most recent Chicago-area shipwreck,the 196-foot-long steel car and passengerferry The Straits of Mackinac, was scuttled in78 feet of water at 4:10 p.m. on April 10, 2003.The ship is located approximately 10 milesnorth of Navy Pier.Holly Barge is 120 feet long, 27 feet wideand 12 feet high and sits upright on the bottomin about 33 feet of water. Approximately 2 milesfrom Chicago, it was purposely sank in May2000 approximately 150 feet from anotherwreck, the 1906 Illinois. A hydraulic sanddredge, the Illinois sank by the early 1930s andhas failed the test of time and wave action,being strewn across the lake floor.(Photo by Dan Kashberger.)in their aircraft landing training. And 21miles off shore, in 251 feet of water, sitsa World War I UC-97 German submarine,a ship used to raise War Bonds butdestroyed as a stipulation of the Treatyof Versailles.”“Diving on shipwrecks isn’t for thefaint-hearted as you usually are movingaround in a cold, dark environment,”Kohl concluded. “But I always emergewith a smile on my face and a greatsense of accomplishment. No matterwhere in the world I go diving, life can’tAfter a day under water, divers canpause to admire a spectacular Chicagoskyline sunset.Want to learn more?The Underwater Archaeological Society(UASC) of Chicago holds monthlymeetings at the John G. Shedd Aquariumin Chicago. Members and invited presentersshare their expertise on Lake Michiganshipwrecks and history, and provideupdates on survey and research projects.For information, visit www.chicagosite.org/uasc.htm or write the UnderwaterArchaeological Society of Chicago, P.O.Box 11752, Chicago, IL 60611.Check with your local dive shop formore information on Lake Michiganshipwrecks and training to make yourdive a safe and enjoyable experience. Inplanning a trip, ask for maps of thewrecks prepared by UASC.get much better than when I come upfrom a dive and look back at the sunsetting behind the gorgeous Chicagolakefront skyline.”June 2006 OutdoorIllinois / 13