In July, researchers from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) captured incredible images of multiple 19th century shipwrecks they discovered at the bottom of Lake Superior off the coast of Grand Marais, Michigan. The three ships—the Michigan, the Frank N. Wheeler, and the Dot (above)—all sank in the 1880s where they were exquisitely preserved 600 feet underwater. From Smithsonian:
"This has been a banner year," says [GLSHS executive director Bruce] Lynn in the statement. He adds that his team has identified many additional shipwrecks this year that have yet to be verified. All told, the director notes, "we have never located so many new wrecks in one season."
As researchers used the robot to explore [the Wheeler…] they happened upon the vessel's main cabin, which had been eerily frozen in time. Photos captured at the scene show overturned stools, an old-fashioned stove and other waterlogged remnants of someone's living quarters.
"You can very clearly see bunks inside the cabin. You can see a chair," Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), told 9&10 News' Corey Adkins in August. "… It kind of looks like the crew just got up and raced out."
Approximately 136 years ago, the ship's crew may have done just that[…]
"Each shipwreck has its own story," [Lynn] adds in the statement. "[T]hese are fantastic, true stories that we can tell in the museum someday."
images: Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society