Rouse Simmons
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The ''Rouse Simmons'' was a three-masted
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
famous for having sunk in a violent storm on
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
in 1912. The ship was bound for
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
with a cargo of
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
s when it foundered off
Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,271 at the 2020 census. It claims to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The c ...
, killing all on board. The legacy of the schooner lives on in the area, with frequent ghost sightings and tourist attractions whereby its final route is traced.Jacobson-Tews, Lori. Pier Wisconsin.
The Story of the Rouse Simmons
. Accessed 12 January 2007.
Boaters Dream, 25 November 2002.
'Christmas Ship,' sunk in gale, has historical ties to Muskegon
. Accessed 12 January 2007.
It was known as The Christmas Tree Ship and was one of many schooners to transport Christmas trees across the lake. However, with railroads, highways, and tree farms proving much more economical, the tree-shipping industry was on a steep decline and by 1920 they stopped sailing.


History

The ''Rouse Simmons'' was built in
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
in 1868 by Allan, McClelland, & Company, and named after
Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...
businessman Rouse Simmons. The schooner was soon purchased by wealthy lumber magnate Charles H. Hackley of
Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...
and joined his sizeable fleet. Hackley's ships served across most of Lake Michigan's coastline, and the ''Rouse Simmons'' became a workhorse, shipping lumber from company mills to several ports around the lake for around 20 years. At its peak the schooner was making almost weekly runs between
Grand Haven Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2020 census, Grand Ha ...
and Chicago.Longacre, Glenn V.,
Prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...
Winter 2006.
The Christmas Tree Ship: Captain Herman E. Schuenemann and the Schooner Rouse Simmons
. Accessed 12 January 2007.
After its service for Hackley the ship exchanged hands several times. Many similar schooners were also frequently sold and they became known as "tramp ships". In 1910 Herman Schuenemann bought an interest in the ship, expanding that to an eighth in 1912. The other shares were owned by Captain Charles Nelson of Chicago, who owned one eighth and would sail alongside Schuenemann on the fatal journey, and three fourths (the commanding share) were owned by Mannes J. Bonner, a businessman from St. James, Michigan.


The "Christmas Tree Ship"

The Schuenemann brothers, Herman and August, had been trading Christmas trees in Chicago since around the start of the 20th century. August died in November 1898 aboard the ''S. Thal'' – a 52-ton, two-masted schooner – when it sank in a storm near
Glencoe, Illinois Glencoe () is a lakefront village in northeastern Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,849. Glencoe is part of Chicago's North Shore and one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. According to t ...
. His younger brother continued the family business. While many rival traders had sold to wholesalers and local grocers, Schuenemann sold directly to Chicago residents at dockside by
Clark Street Bridge The Clark Street Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, connecting the River North, Chicago, Near North Side with Chicago Loop, The Loop via Clark Street (Chicago), Clark Street. History The current brid ...
. By cutting out the middleman in this way the trees could be sold cheaply while still making a profit. The venture used the slogan "Christmas Tree Ship: My Prices are the Lowest", with electric
Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...
and a tree atop the main mast. The trees were sold for between 50 cents and $1, but Herman Schuenemann, affectionately known as "Captain Santa", also gave away some of the trees to needy families.


Final journey

Schuenemann loaded the schooner with 5,500 trees from Thompson Harbor near
Manistique, Michigan Manistique ( ') is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County, Michigan, Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 2,828. The city borders the adjacent ...
and planned to make the week-long journey to Chicago. The difficult weather had discouraged his competitors from making their own journeys, and snow had covered the tree farms in Michigan and Wisconsin.United States Environmental Protection Agency, 9 March 2006.
The Fate of the Christmas Tree Ship
. Accessed 12 January 2007.
He hoped that the resultant shortage of Christmas trees would lead to a huge profit and solve his financial problems. By 1912, November already had a reputation for especially violent storms on the Great Lakes. November 1912, however, had been relatively quiet, with only one significant storm so far, which affected especially southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio. (The reports that say another storm had already taken many lives and ships that month are erroneous, confusing 1912 with the Big Blow of 1913.) Still, a second storm was brewing. The conditions of the day were very poor, with many ships anchoring in port for shelter to avoid being battered by the winds that could be anticipated in a November gale. Local legends say that some sailors refused to board the ship and that the vessel was unseaworthy. Two years earlier the schooner had been towed to port by ''The Grand Haven Tribune'' after it was found riding low in the water. Despite this the journey began at noon, with trees crammed into every possible corner of the ship. The weight of the trees was far above recommendations, especially in the bad winter weather, and was certainly going to contribute to the tragedy. During the night, with storms hitting the ''Simmons'' hard, two sailors were sent to check the lashings on deck. Both seamen were swept overboard by a giant wave that collected them, many bundled trees, and a small boat. Now that the schooner was slightly lighter and more maneuverable, Captain Schuenemann directed it towards Bailey's Harbor. Suddenly, and tragically, the storms worsened; ice formed on the sodden trees and winds battered the hull. When the Kewaunee Life Saving Station spotted the ''Rouse Simmons'' on 23 November 1912 it was low in the water with tattered sails, flying its flag at half mast to signal that it was in distress. Logs from the station show that a surfman spotted the ''Simmons'' at 2:50pm and alerted station keeper Nelson Craite. Craite found that the station's gas tugboat had left earlier in the day and, at 3:10pm, Craite telephoned the nearest other Station. George E. Sogge of Two Rivers, located just south of Kewaunee, sent out the
power boat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the intern ...
''Tuscarora'' on a rescue mission, but the ''Simmons'' was not seen again. The ''Simmons'' was not the only ship to go down during the storm, with the ''South Shore'', the ''Three Sisters'', and the ''Two Brothers'' suffering similar fates.


Wreck and debris

In December 1912 Christmas trees and wreckage were reported ashore at
Pentwater, Michigan Pentwater is a Village (United States), village in Oceana County, Michigan, Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 890 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The village is located within Pentwater Township, Michi ...
. In 1924 a fishing net trawled up a wallet belonging to Captain Schuenemann. The wallet, well preserved because it was wrapped in
oilskin Oilskin is a waterproof cloth used for making garments typically worn by sailors and by others in wet areas. The modern oilskin garment was developed by a New Zealander, Edward Le Roy, in 1898. Le Roy used worn-out sailcloth painted with a mixtu ...
, contained business cards, a newspaper clipping and an expense memorandum.Jacobson-Tews, Lori. Pier Wisconsin.
The Story of the Rouse Simmons (page 5)
. Accessed 12 January 2007.
In 1971 the wreck itself was discovered by
scuba Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving, swimming unde ...
diver Gordon Kent Bellrichard from Milwaukee. Bellrichard was searching for the ''Vernon'', a 177-foot, 700-ton steamer that had sunk in a storm in October 1887, and had been told about an area in which local fishermen had frequently snagged their nets. When his
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
appeared to have located something he dived down to a
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
on the bed of the lake below. Despite his light failing, Bellrichard managed to survey the wreckage with his hands and concluded that he had instead found the ''Simmons''. A forensic study of the wreck suggested that the ship had
steerage Steerage is a term for the lowest category of passenger accommodation in a ship. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, considerable numbers of persons travelled from their homeland to seek a new life elsewhere, in many cases North Amer ...
and was sailing for shelter when it sank. The
mizzen mast The mast of a sailing ship, sailing vessel is a tall spar (sailing), spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median plane, median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, givi ...
snapped off above the deck and the upper portion was not located. The
main mast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light, ...
was found forward and to the port side of the wreck with the base missing. The
foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...
is intact and lies nearly parallel but on top of the main mast suggesting at least one of these masts fell out of the mast step as the ship sank. Many of the trees are still in the ship's hold, though two were extracted and shown as exhibits. Several items recovered from the ''Rouse Simmons'' are now housed in Rogers Street Fishing Village Museum in Two Rivers, including the ship's wheel. The ship's
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...
was retrieved and now stands at the entrance to the Milwaukee Yacht Club. The wreck is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
and lies within the boundaries of the
Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is a National Marine Sanctuary, national marine sanctuary administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce ...
.Madeline Roth, John Bright, and Russ Green, "Baseline Monitoring Documentation of Maritime Heritage Resources in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary," Report of 2022 Field Operations, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, December 2022, p. 32.
/ref>


Legacy

The Christmas Tree Ship lived on through Schuenemann's wife, Barbara, and their two daughters. However, in the latter years they chose to transport the trees by train and merely used a boat as a platform for sale. The practice of transporting trees by schooner ceased in 1920, and the increasing popularity of railways, highways and tree farms soon made it easier and more affordable for everyone to buy a tree.Jacobson-Tews, Lori. Pier Wisconsin.
The Story of the Rouse Simmons (page 6)
. Accessed 12 January 2007.


See also

* '' The Christmas Schooner'' - A musical written by Julie Shannon and John Reeger that chronicles the journeys of a fictional schooner based upon the ''Rouse Simmons''. * '' The Christmas Tree Ship (EP)'' - An album by
iLiKETRAiNS I Like Trains (previously styled as iLiKETRAiNS) is an English alternative/post-rock band, formed in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It draws its inspiration from historical failings and a pessimistic world view. I Like Trains has had its music used ...
about the ''Rouse Simmons'' and three other ships lost in the same storm.


References


Historical Collections of the Great Lakes Index: ''Rouse Simmons''


External links


"Load full of Christmas trees went down with the ship"
by Dennis McCann at the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''.
Maritime History of the Great Lakes: Shipwrecks: ''Rouse Simmons''

Maritime History of the Great Lakes: Vessel Extracts: ''Rouse Simmons''



Meverden, Keith N., and Tamara L. Thomsen, "Myths and Mysteries: Underwater Archaeological Investigation of the Lumber Schooner ''Rouse Simmons'', Christmas Tree Ship," Wisconsin Historical Society, 2008.
{{Recreational dive sites, wresit 1868 ships Christmas tree production Individual sailing vessels Lumber schooners Maritime incidents in 1912 Schooners of the United States Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Three-masted ships National Register of Historic Places in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Ships built in Milwaukee Wreck diving sites in the United States