Rouse Simmons
Rouse Simmons tied up to dock ca. 1900 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Rouse Simmons |
| Builder | |
| Launched | August 15, 1868 |
| Identification | US 110087 |
| Nickname(s) | "Christmas Tree Ship" |
| Fate | Foundered and sunk on November 23, 1912 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Three mast schooner |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 123.5 ft (37.6 m) |
| Beam | 27.6 ft (8.4 m) |
| Height | 8.4 ft (2.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Crew | 5 |
| Notes | 17 persons lost in sinking |
Rouse Simmons (shipwreck) | |
| Location | Lake Michigan, 6 miles (9.7 km) off Point Beach, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 44°16′30.6″N 87°24′56.4″W / 44.275167°N 87.415667°W |
| MPS | Great Lakes Shipwreck Sites of Wisconsin MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000197 |
| Added to NRHP | March 21, 2007 |
The Rouse Simmons was a three-masted schooner famous for having sunk in a violent storm on Lake Michigan in 1912. The ship was bound for Chicago with a cargo of Christmas trees when it foundered off Two Rivers, Wisconsin, 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. 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.