Indiana’s Maritime Heritage: Ongoing Investigations and Management Strategies for the 1910 Muskegon (aka Peerless) Shipwreck (12LE0381)

Samuel I. Haskell; Matthew Maus; Charles D Beeker; Kirsten M. Hawley

Indiana’s Maritime Heritage: Ongoing Investigations and Management Strategies for the 1910 Muskegon (aka Peerless) Shipwreck (12LE0381)

Author(s): Samuel I. Haskell; Matthew Maus; Charles D Beeker; Kirsten M. Hawley

Year: 2018

Summary

Built in 1872 as the Peerless, the Muskegon (12LE0381) was a steamship that operated on the Great Lakes until it was abandoned in 1911. Having functioned as a passenger-freighter, a lumber-hooker, and a sand-sucker during its service, the Muskegon represents important innovations in engineering, commerce, transportation, and industry. Following initial documentation by state archaeologist Gary Ellis in 1987, the Muskegon became the first shipwreck in the State of Indiana to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to Great Lakes maritime history. Since 2016, Indiana University has been conducting ongoing direct diver and low-visibility photogrammetric surveys to inform management decisions and support public outreach with funding from the Indiana DNR and Lake Michigan Coastal Program. This paper presents the methodology and results of this ongoing assessment, discussing strategies for management and public interpretation to preserve the shipwreck as a publicly-accessible Marine Protected Area.

Cite this Record

Indiana’s Maritime Heritage: Ongoing Investigations and Management Strategies for the 1910 Muskegon (aka Peerless) Shipwreck (12LE0381). Samuel I. Haskell, Matthew Maus, Charles D Beeker, Kirsten M. Hawley. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441515)