In the early 1920s,a freighter ran aground on Poverty Island. Again, no Griffin. They say that big things come in small packages. In the storm, the salvage boat was lost. But, while delivering a valuable cargo of furs, it vanished amid rumours that she had been cursed by a prophet from the indigenous Iroquois tribe. There are many new facts that appear to support the legend. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season seven with Robert Stack and in season five with Dennis Farina. Or, a Top Secret Human Experiment Gone Wild? ", [ Want more news like this? The other nearby wreckage, meanwhile, had been dated to between 1632 and 1982. Ive heard this story many times. The nonprofit group operates the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in tiny Paradise, Michigan, near the shore of Lake Superior, as well as the oldest working lighthouse on the Great Lakes, Adkins said. "Adventures on Forty-one Islands: Island No. Traveling up the seaway to the Great Lakes seems to me a very odd way to reach Richmond VA. Very interesting story. Date: 1863 Description: Poverty Island is an island in Lake Michigan between St. Martin Island and Summer Island just south of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And dont even get me started on the whole God thing, singular or plural. ON LAKE MICHIGAN NEAR POVERTY ISLAND, Mich. - In a remote part of northern Lake Michigan, divers have started looking at an underwater pit, hoping to find the resting place of the Griffin, a . For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Until that day, Lake Michigan will keep its grip on the five wooden treasure chests hidden far beneath its surface. But we just wanted to let our community consider this mystery. The U.S. Lighthouse Board commissioned a Lighthouse to be built on Poverty island in 1874 using the same design as the Lighthouse on Sturgeon Point near Harrisville on Lake Huron, ( you can read my post HERE) The Light was automated in 1958 and by 1965 the Lantern room at the top of the tower and the lens had been removed and replaced with an exposed electric light. The only way to really find this treasure is to have human beings on the sled visually looking at the bottom. Around 300 passengers responded by climbing on to the deck, with large waves washing some out to sea. I for one started before we had any formal search devices, side scan, GPS that sort of equipment. Its museum has extensive displays of numerous shipwreck artifacts and other lore of the lakes, scale models of every conceivable type of vessel that sank, and even the restored bell of the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald. Additionally, this particular shipwreck is well-known, can be clearly seen on aerial imagery internet sites, and has been visited by state authorities.". A bowsprit discovered a few miles away in 2001 is another part of the . SSI Platinum 5000 Diving Award 1993, 518 Water Street Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085, Second Saturdays - Journeys Into Local History, The Sunken Treasure of Poverty Island with Richard Bennett. The keelson structure with mast steps, paired floors and futtocks, and ceiling timbers all suggest a sailing craft, probably a schooner or schooner-barge, that was built and operated during the last half of the 1800s. "Kevin got suited up," said Monroe. One legend in particular has claimed that, just offshore of Poverty Island, there are five chests stuffed with gold bullion and coins, which would today be worth more than $400 million. When we started it was dead-reckoning each time we went out. The island is within Delta County in Lake Michigan and is home to the Poverty Island Light Station, an abandoned lighthouse which is in disrepair. The best part- The namehonoredCount Frontenac, the governor of all French territoriesin North America, whose coat of arms featured the symbol. The sunken salvage ship Captain Lawrence from 1933 was discovered in 1993 and found not to contain the gold. Thats the legend. As he was pulling the chests up, one of the chests opened and the gold spilled to the bottom but he got four chests.When the person who wrote the story in the eighties tried to find the bartender on Washington Island to confirm the story he was long gone. Theislandis within Delta County in Lake Michigan and is home to thePoverty IslandLight Station, an abandoned lighthouse which is in disrepair. When aUnion ship began attacking, the captain had the crew throw the treasure chests overboard in the waters off poverty island, so the gold could not be used by the Union Army, with the intention of retrieving it later. This wreck is unusual for being buried entirely in the sandit's now stranded about a quarter mile away from shore. The most popular origin for the story of Poverty Islands lost treasure begins in 1863, during the American Civil War. Reports by French explorers and missionaries said Native Americans told them they saw the ship go down with all hands. The heartless tides of Lake Michigan had once again reclaimed the Poverty Island treasure. There were considerable changes to the story line for the sake of TV time constraints. A 2272-ton cargo ship that wrecked off Namibia's . Investigations: None In 1994, a TV program investigated the Door County legend that $400 million in gold lies submerged near Poverty Island. Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. Pounded to pieces, the ship eventually sank. The Poverty Island Treasure story has been arranged and rearranged with the same slim two sentences or at most a few paragraphs. Or how many times they dived on each trip there. Rum Runner, You are correct about many people looking for the Treasure of Poverty Island. Never forget, mother Michigan can be an unforgiving, raging b*#ch, and they dont call it Poverty Island for nothing Safe journeys, Captain. Learn how your comment data is processed. I new book will be available in a few weeks, Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. Poverty Island. The wooden and steel vessels didnt sink, they floated onto the rocks, were smashed to pieces, and distributed by currents and waves all around the bays half under water until they became waterlogged and sunk. That's a lot of our country," Steve Libert said. Maybe somebody will find that ship someday,'and he touched me on the shoulder.". The PADI 50 year Contributions Award 2016 For at least one determined treasure hunter it is very real indeed, and time will only tell if there is anything to it or not. Like all adventures in treasure hunting there is a lack of funding. It was built with the intention of finding a route through North Americas Great Lakes to reach China and Japan. in shallow water near Poverty Island and Summer Island. Download our app for the latest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Divers reported that while looking up toward the . I believe it is true. While closed to the public, a drone video from Eddie Verhamme allows viewers to explore the many wonders of this one-of-a-kind destination. Even went so far as to buy a 2-man submarine in 1964 from a company in Fort Wayne called Nautilette, for the search. If your research has been exhaustive then you know that it does exist. To answer Joe from the 8-30-16 comment: Your right Joe, that was the point, to be odd. If you have finances why not do your own search. They discovered the trunks while pulling up anchor, but before they could get it aboard, the anchor chain snapped and treasure and anchor were lost in the water. By Hannah Pennington, Published on Jul 28, 2022. Now, the celebrity part of the story. 37: Poverty Island", "Feature Detail Report for: Poverty Island", Seeing The Light Poverty Island Lighthouse, Inventory of Historic Light Stations-Michigan-Poverty Island Light, Le Griffon: The Great Lakes' greatest mystery, "Divers begin Lake Michigan search for Griffin ship - Yahoo! Poverty Island is currently owned by the federal government. Is there a fortune worth of gold lying out there just waiting to be found? I would love to be there when this particular treasure is found and recovered. That in itself is rewarding. 27.07 - MU Plus+ Podcast - Flames of Prophecy, 29.07 - MU Podcast - Contract with the Goddess, 29.06 - MU Podcast - Italian Disco Abductions, 27.06 - MU Plus+ Podcast - Secret Vaults of Time, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Queen's Ghost, Small Lake Monster, Space Caterpillar and More Mysterious News Briefly, A Haunted Book and the Most Haunted Bookshop There Is. Fact; The treasure was not been found by the first salvage divers, as has been implied. The show would be dramatic enough, but in the end, it came down to the same question: is the legend true? Sanilac Shores also is the resting spot for the wreck of the Sport, a 57-foot steel-hulled tugboat that sank in a gale in December 1920. They just sat there (on gun carriages). Yetnone has accompanied Steve on his dives, the couple saidin an interview last week at theirwaterfront condominium in Charlevoix. A hard-luck ship: 6 lives were lost in a boiler explosion, 1871; sank in Welland Canal, 1872; major fires in 1880, 1892, 1898, 1899 and 1906, sank on Lake Superior [Portage Canal] in 1906. . The advantage today is the sophisticated equipment available for such endeavors its available however not inexpensive. . My grandfather spent half of his life after coming home from WWII with a friend in Benzonia, MI. Its cold. In an email, a DNR spokesman said the wreckage the Liberts have targeted can't be the Griffon: "Our archeologists review of recently published media images reveals the remains of a shipwreck that features typical late 19th-century Great Lakes shipbuilding materials and methodologies, and scantlings that are entirely too large to be a French colonial vessel. At 3 a.m. on September 19, 1933, a sudden wind blew the vessel onto the rocky shore of Lake Michigan's Poverty Island. At the time, one of the favorite routes of vessels making their runs was to take the Poverty Island Passage, between Poverty and the Gull Islands, as it was considered to be a sort of short cut, although this was balanced out by the dangers caused by the many shoals of the area. It looked like a ship sitting upright on the lake bottom. Paul Paul Heersink has also been collecting data on sunken ships during World War II for seven years. Archaeologists have discovered a new communal grave tied to an infamous and bloody 1629 mutiny of Murder Island. May I get to know you sir. Professional diver and owner of a diving school and shop in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Bennet became fascinated and obsessed with the legend of the Poverty Island lost treasure back in 1968, and has been looking for it ever since. But there was no ship below, only hard-packed claylike sediment extending to bedrock 20 feet down. By some accounts the ship was discovered by Union forces and sunk near Poverty Island, while others say it was dashed upon the rocks while attempting to make a misguided night run, and yet another version says they were attacked by French pirates. The database currently has a location of 14,672 ships. I have been fascinated by treasure hunting all my life whether on land or sea its addictive. Thousands of vessels from canoes to car ferries and steamers to modern ore boats have sailed these "inland seas" and unknown numbers still remain - settled on the lakes bottom in watery graves. A few years later, Karl Jesson, the son of the Poverty Island lighthouse keeper, reported watching a salvage crew that seemed to make an exciting discovery in Lake Michigan just before their ship was sunk by a storm. What about one of those small manned submarines?? www.boxingaddictions.net > Blog > Uncategorized > poverty island shipwreck. However I believe it to be factual regardless of what the naysayers say. Or my brother Jim. JUDES CHILDRENS HOSPITAL /GOOD LUCK to all Treasure Hunters Everywhere. That sounds a little like maybe he found it and just sort of slipped away. Years later, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas and killed in 1687 by mutinous soldiers, according to historians cited by the Liberts. At 4.30am on Monday 4 August 1845 in stormy weather, the Cataraqui struck a reef on the west coast of King Island less than 100 metres from shore. Shipwrecks. All Rights Reserved. Wish I could be there when you pull them out of the water! Thanks for the good wishes. Dear Richard, Ive also have read, years ago, in newspapers about the five sunken treasure chests linked together in bottom of Lake Michigan. A 400-year-old silk dress discovered in a shipwreck off the Dutch coast has shed new light on a daring top-secret mission to pawn the crown jewels on the eve of the English civil war. Dreamers are also doers, thats also how inventions are born. At the couples condo, they showed the Free Press their underwater metal detectors, a wall of research books, and a sculpture of a Griffon the French coat of arms symbol for which the ill-fated ship was named as they made plans for Steve to dive again this summer. People believed the earth was flat for longer than that. Id love to join Mr Bennett and help with the salvage, Im. Marty Lagina and Matty Blake return to the eerie waters surrounding Poverty Island in Lake Michigan to search for a lost Civil War treasure worth an estimated $400-million. What about that guy from escanba, that looked for it, and then retired in Florida. It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. The book is in 8 1/2" X 11" manuscript form and follows somewhat of a sequence of events. Despite the lack of a paper trail, the legend of the secret shipment has persisted. Behrens and his crew of four escaped and took refuge on Poverty Island. with Mr Bennett. Even people with the means to dispose of some of the gold would find it hard the move any large amount. Also reported ashore on Twin River Point . It may not display this or other websites correctly. Rumors were that the bartender found the gold. Only time will tell. In 1994, when countyresidents heard that a television crew was on its way to document a mystery, it seemed like the best of these worlds were coming together within the county. The production of cotton made the Confederacy's success of prime importance to the French leader. Mr Libert said: There are numerous theories as to what happened to The Griffin. Steve and Kathie Libert, of Charlevoix, said they've spent more than 40 years seeking the answer to one of North Americas most enduring mysteries the final resting place of the legendaryGriffon. It is only a speck of rocky land just east of Wisconsin, surrounded by the chilly waters of Lake Michigan. As we know the story of Poverty Island treasure has been around a long time. In either event, the chests of gold never arrived. A few years later, Karl Jesson, the son of the Poverty Island lighthouse keeper, reported watching a salvage crew that seemed to make an exciting discovery in Lake Michigan just before their ship was sunk by a storm. He met Kathie in high schoolwhen he returned on crutches after a football injury and teachers asked her to carry his books. The treasure is believed to rest deep beneath the cold waters of Lake Michigan. Mr Libert hopes to find a cannon, like the above, on the wreck of The Griffin. Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. The story says several chests of gold, worth an approximate $400 million, were brought overland through Canada and loaded onto a schooner on Lake Michigan. Sailing northeast along the Door County archipelago: We hoisted full sail and 110 jib at the dock and sailed from Jackson Harbor , north and west between Washington Island and Rock Island. "Kids should know, this is the guy who claimed all the land that became the Louisiana Purchase. From then on, Steve's obsession grew. Exposed timbers of the Twelvemile Island wreck (NPS Photo) SEAC and the Submerged Resources Center (SRC), in conjunction with the Slave Wrecks Project, were part of a federal, state, university, and private sector team assessing a reporter's claim that the wreck of the Clotilda - the last known ship to bring enslaved people to the U.S. from Africa -had been discovered near Mobile. The PADI DIVING Excellence Award 1994 1,517 people lost their lives. It tells a story of one village in rural medieval Japan, following one boy Isaku, as his family struggles to get food essential for their survival. Case File: Poverty Island Treasure Location: Michigan Date: 1863 Description: Poverty Island is an island in Lake Michigan between St. Martin Island and Summer Island just south of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As for the Griffon? The team makes an astonishing discovery in the investigation of not just one but two shipwrecks. Spending years building long running, fast boats he could outrun the storm in, once getting to the island from Traverse City area. Travel the Great Lakes on a floating mansion with new Viking cruise ships, Report: Recycling in Michigan reaches 19.3%, up 35.4% in 3 years, Want more news like this? Richard, are you still looking for the treasure? In 1863 she grounded on Middle Island, near Thunder Bay, MI and was declared a total loss, but later recovered. This video by Steve and Kathie Libert is from the location where they found the wreckage from the Le Griffon. "Especially going back that far, it's really hard to prove things. But Im a dreamer, and Im a gambler. the souls of the sukin ship dont want the trezer found and lotid so the souls The story seems consistent, there were witnesses, and maybe it was real, but in the end,it is really just alegend. After a long courtship and college degrees, they married in 1981. This is where different versions of the story begin to branch off from the main narrative. I cant believe how much I have learned about the US Civil War and all its components. In 1929, a ship passing nearby allegedly snagged something deep down in the water, which when dredged up proved to be the legendary string of chests. In Gytheio, you can find 'Dimitrios', a 67-meter-long ship, sunk and rusty, quite near the shore, easy to explore up close and swim nearby. Because the odds are always against you. There are treasure stories around us I Often Hear That: I'll Share Some With You, TikTok and Its Strange Proliferation of Mysterious Accounts of Skinwalkers, Shamans, Psychedelics, and One Man's mystical Journey in the Amazon to Find a Miracle Cure. Rick I live in the area of interested and have always wanted to dedicate time to something with allure. I really hope you find them. Prominent historians and shipwreck experts in Michigan doubt the Liberts' claim. Rrrrrrrrrr/shiver me timbers/another treasure story/ Im hopeing this ones true/all I can say is/PLEASE/PLEASE/BE CAREFUL/Ive personally saved 5 children from drowning / including myself twice/true story/ MAY GOD BE WITH YOU /and PLEASE donate/some of the findings to /ST. Richard Bennett. Today, Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed where others have failed. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Griffin is believed to be the first ship of European design to sail the upper Great Lakes. Up it came, just seconds away, a fortune in gold, when suddenly the chains broke. It's the oldest mystery on the Great Lakes: Whatever happened to the Griffon? Join MU Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions & much more! . and the expenses needed for this type of endeavor.l would welcome a discussion.