The Christmas Tree Ship
The ship known as the Christmas Tree Ship, the Rouse Simmons, sank in November of 1912 between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, Wisconsin, during a winter storm on Lake Michigan. The ship left Thompson Pier, Michigan, reportedly needing repair, and overloaded with Christmas trees for its annual journey to the expanding Christmas market in Chicago. The story surrounding the mystery of the sinking and the legend that followed cannot be told without first sharing the story of the schooners and their masters in the late 19th century.
As the United States of America moved westward in the 1800s, the population of Michigan and Wisconsin grew exponentially. Emigrants were looking for cheap land and opportunities and established small communities on the shorelines of both states. The inland sea was an opportunity in itself. The best way to move commodities to market was by boat. Railroads were not yet a reality there, and highways were rare. Schooners were prevalent, and a ship called a scow-schooner was the choice of shippers on the lakes who needed to access shallow ports. Local artisans built many of these boats, not recognized shipbuilders. There was a necessity to move goods to market, and people naturally stepped up to fill the need. Carpenters or others who knew how to build things were the shipbuilders, and it follows that men became sailors and even captains of vessels with little or no experience due to the…
