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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

August 6, 2008 - August 2010
Shipwrecks- A Deep Look, The Rise of the Self-Unloaders exhibits, Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, St. Joseph.

August 6, 2008
7:00 p.m. "From Hennepin to the Thousand Footers- The Rise of the Self-unloaders," presentation with Valerie van Heest and William Lafferty, directors of Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates. Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, St. Joseph.

Summer 2008
Film documentary public presentation on the Hennepin’s discovery. TBA.

From the Hennepin to the Thousand Footers —The Rise of the Self-Unloader -- (2007)

Grant Awarded: November 2007

Type of Grant: Michigan People, Michigan Places ... Our Stories, Our Lives

Sponsors: Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates (MSRA)

Collaborators: The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, Western Michigan University

Contact: Valerie van Heest, 616-566-6009, shipwrecked@chartermi.net

Award: $15,000

Website: www.michiganshipwrecks.org

On Wednesday August 6th, the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in St. Joseph will debut a new exhibit called “Shipwrecks- A Deep Look, The Rise of the Self-Unloaders”. To kick of the exhibit, Valerie van Heest and William Lafferty, directors of Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates (MSRA), will be presenting a companion program entitled “From Hennepin to the Thousand Footers- The Rise of the Self-unloaders.”

This exhibit examines past and present commercial shipping technologies and is one component of a larger exhibit, “Working Waterfronts,” which examines the past, present, and future plans for the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor maritime landscape. Both exhibits will be on display through August 2010. The "Shipwrecks" exhibit will tell the story of the Hennepin and the importance of shipwrecks as a source of historical information.  The Hennepin is a historically significant vessel representing the world’s first self-unloading vessel and the paradigm for the modern self-unloaders currently used by 80 percent of the shipping industry in Michigan. The presentation will include a documentary with a historical reenactment of its sinking, underwater video of this extraordinary wreck site, and a rare, up-close look at the modern self-unloaders and their crews today. The exhibit will also tell the story of the Rockaway, a sailing schooner which was wrecked off the coast of South Haven in 1891.  The Rockaway represents an earlier chapter in the history of Great Lakes shipping, before the advent of the self-unloader.  Excavated by the Michigan Maritime Museum during the 1980s, select artifacts from the wreck will be on display.   A 15-minute film documentary on the Hennepin’s discovery is part of the exhibit. A a companion publication will also be included in the exhibit. MSRA is developing an online curriculum guide for teachers to fit with the exhibit and Michigan maritime history.

In 2006 MSRA discovered the wreck of the Hennepin upright and amazingly intact in 230-feet of water off South Haven. After a thorough underwater documentation, MSRA was able to place the Hennepin in its proper historical context which had never before been realized. This ship is in fact the world’s first self-unloader when it was converted in 1902. Before that the crews of sailing and steam ships had the backbreaking chore of manually loading and unloading vessels.  All self-unloading vessels built after the Hennepin were modeled after its revolutionary conveyer belt system designed to bring bulk cargo out from the hold of a ship.  What took men days to do by hand, could now be done in a matter of hours. The big-self-unloaders regularly seen in St. Joseph harbor still employ designs similar to that first installed on the Hennepin over a century ago.  The Hennepin was no stranger to St. Joseph either. It regularly delivered stone that was used to pave Colfax and Britain Avenue and Higman Park Road.

The full story of the history of the Hennepin, an historical reenactment of its sinking and underwater video of this extraordinary wreck site will be presented, as well as a rare, up-close look at the modern self-unloaders and the crews who sail on them.  Lafferty and van Heest, authors of a new book due out this November by the same name as this program, will offer a sneak peak at some of the intriguing aspects of shipwreck hunting, underwater exploration and rewriting history upon the discovery of a shipwreck.  Van Heest, a member of the Women divers Hall of Fame and winner of a Michigan State History Award, and William Lafferty, winner of the Henry J. Barkhausen award for his paper on the Hennepin teamed up to nominate the Hennepin to the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in changing the face of commercial shipping. The Hennepin was officially listed in February 2008.

The program begins at 7:00 PM. It is free to members of The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center and Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates. A $5.00 admission is asked of all others. Guests are invited to tour the exhibit before or after the program. Coffee and dessert will be served.

The exhibit and the Program are sponsored by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council which is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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An exhibit entitled “The Rise of the Self-Unloaders” addressing past and present commercial shipping technologies will be created with this funding. The exhibit will be one part of another exhibit entitled “Working Waterfronts” which examines the past, present, and future plans for the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor maritime landscape. Both exhibits will be on display for two years beginning April 2008. The Hennepin is a historically significant vessel representing the world’s first self-unloading vessel and the paradigm for the modern self-unloaders currently used by 80 percent of the shipping industry in Michigan. The Hennepin was lost in 203 feet of water off South Haven in August of 1929. Based on underwater research conducted of the Hennepin, this exhibit will interpret the origin and development of this first ever self unloader within the Great Lakes maritime landscape. It will also reflect on shipwrecks as a source of information on Michigan’s maritime culture. At one time, shipping of bulk goods on the Great Lakes rivaled that of waterborne trade on the eastern and western seaboard states combined. Great Lakes maritime trade had a significant impact on the industrialization of America. A 15-minute film documentary on the Hennepin’s discovery will be created for a public presentation in summer 2008. A a companion publication will also be included in the exhibit. MSRA is developing an online curriculum guide for teachers to fit with the exhibit and Michigan maritime history.