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Jefferson J. Gray. FUELING THE FIRE: AN UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE CLAFLIN POINT WRECK AND LITTLE STURGEON, WISCONSIN. (Under the direction of Bradley A. Rodgers) Department of History, November 1998.
A vessel's skeleton rests a few hundred feet offshore of the Claflin Memorial Park in Little Sturgeon, Wisconsin. An imaginative mind is able to envision these remains as a once lively steamship. After an initial survey in 1994, more than twenty years after its discovery and nearly a century after its sinking, Wisconsin state archaeologists identified the vessel's remains as that of a wooden-hulled steam propeller that had been converted to a barge.
In September of 1995, students and staff from East Carolina University's Program in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology conducted a Field Semester course at the site. Aided by SHSW staff, the project was designed as a detailed investigation and documentation of the Claflin Point Wreck. The project's scope has since expanded beyond an exclusive focus on the wreck. The archaeological research generated historical questions. How did the wrecked vessel fit into or affect the economic history of Little Sturgeon? How was this particular vessel, and other similar vessels, used in Great Lakes trade?
The wreck's identity has eluded investigators. However, aided by archaeological and historical research, this site, dubbed the Claflin Point Wreck, offers a glimpse into the fast-paced industrial world of Great Lakes communities during the late nineteenth century. The vessel wrecked at Claflin Point and others like it, were indispensable workhorses in supporting the expansion and development of the region. |
Department of History |