Asked about the couple's claims, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was quick to dismiss them. Dean Anderson, the Michigan State Archeologist, examined the object, an alleged "bowsprit," and determined it to be a fishing net stake. History: Richard Bennett, a professional diver and . There are many new facts that appear to support the legend. At the time, Union forces were beginning to gain the upper hand in the war, and the cash-strapped Confederates were frantically trying to raise money for their war effort. Wisconsin. In most versions of the tale, the chests, usually said to be five of them, were chained together, making it likely that if one is to find one, they will find all of them. Is there a fortune worth of gold lying out there just waiting to be found? had a conversation with a salvage captain out of green bay many years ago whos father hunted for this treasure. Rum Runner, You are correct about many people looking for the Treasure of Poverty Island. The wreckage, however, suggests the storm was the most feasible theory. Good luck and if you find a treasure invite me to the party. Maybe somebody will find that ship someday,'and he touched me on the shoulder.". He's been searching the waters of Lake Michigan near tiny Poverty Island for decades, and now shipwreck hunter Steve Libert thinks he has found the remains of the Griffin, used by a 17th-century . He mentioned this ship. The Old abandoned Lighthouse, thats on my Bucket List of places to photograph, looks over the waters where treasure chests full of gold were tossed overboard into Lake Michigan. That sounds a little like maybe he found it and just sort of slipped away. It is available here. Thegroup's search team has discoveredseveral shipwrecks, including that of the 172-foot schooner-barge Atlanta, found just last yearand deemed "still beautiful after 130 years on the bottom of Lake Superior" by society Executive Director Bruce Lynn. The big questions is has anyone else found it and recovered it and kept there mouth shut. In 1883, a retaining wall was built around . 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. Over the course of decades, he has sunk over $100,000 of his own money in his endless quest, as well as around $30,000 from donations, all the while constantly scouring old news archives for stories, leads, and clues about the treasure. Cleanup the TREASURE Hunter's House in The Forest. Fact; The legend first appeared in print in 1907 or 1910. [2][3], On June 16, 2013, U.S. and French archeologists began examining an underwater object first discovered in 2001 near Poverty Island that could be the wreck of Le Griffon, although it will take time to determine if it is even a shipwreck. You are now leaving Unsolved.com and heading to our shop at. VIRTUAL MUSEUM Shipwrecks: A Deep Look Lost & Found Unsolved Mysteries Artifact Collection. Even better than the equipment is luck Mel Fisher had this and it made him very successful where others failed. They just sat there (on gun carriages). The best part are the flow charts, five pages with arrows pointing to what may have happened next. of Michigan intervened under, inter alia, the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 (the ASA), 43 U.S.C. Dimitrios Shipwreck, Mani peninsula, Peloponnese. As long as you dont take advantage of someone either by money or reputation I dont see how it can hurt. There is a reason why this book is accruate if not so well definded. The ship log might also contain information regarding the treasure. Carbon dating of the bowsprit estimated an age range within a year of The Griffins sinking in 1679. Taking a new approach, Rick Lagina and Matty Blake return to Poverty Island in Lake Michigan to search for millions in missing Civil War gold. There were considerable changes to the story line for the sake of TV time constraints. When a Union 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 . We are confident the ship was wrecked due to a severe storm. How deep is it?? Better to make it known and use the courts to reap a reward. Years later, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas and killed in 1687 by mutinous soldiers, according to historians cited by the Liberts. Yet the battle to find The Griffin has been riddled with issues. The director, Michael Palazzolo, arrived and scouted out the county for filming locations. I often wonder if they thought it was round. See more in this clip from Season 3, "Return to Poverty Isla. La Salle named the shipLe Griffon, after the mythical creature whose body of a lion has the head and wings of an eagle. Mr Libert said: The ship has no indications of fire damage to the wooden remains. Submarines- Got one too hard to deploy and recover in rough water. It sank in the North Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City on April 14th, 1912. Eduard Bohlen, Namibia. Others believed it was shipwrecked in a storm. "Kids should know, this is the guy who claimed all the land that became the Louisiana Purchase. The Riches of Poverty Island: With Matty Blake, Robert Clotworthy, Robert C. Kreipke, Rick Lagina. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season seven with Robert Stack and in season five with Dennis Farina. Another skeptic is Corey Adkins, communications content director for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Like all adventures in treasure hunting there is a lack of funding. The heartless tides of Lake Michigan had once again reclaimed the Poverty Island treasure. If you need a hand, let me know. Shipwrecks [1982/1996] - . . "I've supported the historical part of it," including the accumulation and study of an entire wall of books about French exploration of North America, 17th-century shipbuilding techniques, and just about everything ever written from 1769 on about the Griffon. The PADI DIVING Excellence Award 1994 One could hardly walk into a bank with hundreds of pounds of gold and cash it in. From the pages of the Door County Advocate of years gone by. Their findings are detailed in the 2021 book Le Griffon and the Huron Islands 1679: Our Story of Explorations and Discovery. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. The plausibletheory is that during the Civil War, a shipment of gold from NapoleonBonapartewas being transported thru the great lakes down the Mississippi to fund the Confederate army. My grandfather spent half of his life after coming home from WWII with a friend in Benzonia, MI. if you think about it gold and silver were not illegal in the 1860's so why throw them overboard ? (Image: Great Lakes Exploration Group via Pen News ). All in all, the locals were impressed by how friendly the Hollywood people were. In the end, America learned about the legend of Poverty Island, yet nothing except the excitement of celebrity really changed. Often considered the first ship lost on the Great Lakes, little was known about it until shipwreck hunters Stevie and Kathie Libert set to work. . Youll find many pieces of ships from the same era, but alas matey, wrong wreck. Sitting out in Lake Michigan, south of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and located between St. Martin Island and Summer Island is a windswept, storm-kissed slash of rock called Poverty Island. Extra Notes: This case originally ran on the November 11, 1994 episode. He's written articles for MU and Daily Grail and has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and Binnal of America. Steve and Kathie Libert, a husband and wife team, determined that a wreck found in 2018 near the Poverty Island in Lake Michigan, was likely that of the mysterious Griffin. Id love to join Mr Bennett and help , and fund his search. There are many new facts that appear to support the legend. Distribution of shipwrecks globally North Atlantic - 3002 South Atlantic - 198 Mediterranean - 305 Indian - 313 Arctic - 124 Pacific - 3276. Mr Libert hopes to find a cannon, like the above, on the wreck of The Griffin. The brief is printed on about 40 pages which would be about 80 pages in a standard book form. I've been itching to get into wreck diving and searching, and up here in Minnesota, I was hoping to start soon. I almost came over to your house, to get your papers on the treasure. The Liberts dispute that statement, pointing to their years of studying all they could find about the construction of 17th-century French ships, much of which they summarize andillustratein their book. Despite that belief, there is a story that a group of sailors might have accidentally snagged one of the trunks in 1929. In 1984 he found an anchor. 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. The location and reason of her sinking has remained a mystery ever since.[5]. Having a museum historian carbon-date it to the same era left them eager for the adventure. Beat of luck be safe and careful. By Hannah Pennington, Published on Jul 28, 2022. Their hope is to prove that this is the ship that went missing for 343 years. La Salle never found out what happened to his ship. That might just be the case for Oak Island, an island off Nova Scotia that's only 140 acres but is home to some incredible findings. 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. 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. Now they're retired in Charlevoix, a four-hour boat ride from the dive site that they hope will someday disprove thenaysayers. Investigations: None Never found, the island is a place of intrigue. Discovery of the Shipwreck. The distance of 3.8 miles between the bowsprit and main sections highly suggests the Indians did not sink it either, nor did La Salles men mutiny and sink the ship. The treasure story reaches back to 1863, when the tide of the Civil War was turning in favor of the Union. Sailors and divers have had odd experiences near this wreck. Up it came, just seconds away, a fortune in gold, when suddenly the chains broke. 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. The beleaguered South, strapped for capital, put out a desperate call for relief to France. Its deep. Is the treasure of Poverty Island real, or is it just myth and legend? I live on the garden peninsula a few miles north of poverty island and have always been intrigued by the story. Mr and Mrs Libert claim The Griffin matches wreckage found in 2018 near Poverty Island in Lake Michigan. What say you, Mate. Around 300 passengers responded by climbing on to the deck, with large waves washing some out to sea. In either event, the chests of gold never arrived. Whatever the case may be, the gold either went down with the ship or was hidden on the island in order to be collected later or even thrown overboard to keep it from being captured. According to Mr and Mrs Libert, The Griffin is a good match for wreckage found in 2018 near Poverty Island, Lake Michigan. FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our homepage. JUDES CHILDRENS HOSPITAL /GOOD LUCK to all Treasure Hunters Everywhere. 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. We just had a basketball celebrity here in Milwaukee return to his childhood part of the inner city and consul youngsters in following their dreams. enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, I hate spam, its just an automated system that lets you know there is a new post, You must be logged in to post a comment, Enter your Email to receive new posts notifications, If you like this post click on the buttons to share with your friends, Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend, The Mystery of Poverty Islands Sunken Treasure Chests, The Lonely Lighthouse Keeper and the Dahlia, The Two Sisters and the Magical Little Island Near Detroit. Loaded with furs in what's now Wisconsin, the Griffon was said to have sunksomewherein northern Lake Michigan in 1679. Door County has long been a magnet for famous people who have sought itsnatural beauty and long, lovely coastline. Only the daring apply. More than 14,400 migrants have arrived in Italy by boat this year so far, compared to 5,470 in the same period last . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Its deep. What if more than $400 million in gold is still sitting in the cold water just off Poverty Island waiting for a brave soul to discover it? His belief in the treasure has been bolstered by Steve Harrington, a maritime historian, but another historian, Chuck Feltner, debates the veracity of the treasure since there is no record of a ship sinking there despite flawlessly kept records of ships lost 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. As we know the story of Poverty Island treasure has been around a long time. "I'm an independent historian, and I thought our patrons would be interested," said Stozicki, who is president of the Rochester-Avon Historical Society. I have read alot about this. Pounded to pieces, the ship eventually sank. Richard Bennett, a professional diver and author, has spent more than 20 years and $100,000 of his own money searching for the sunken fortune: Any story that survives 100 years has to have some validity to it. On November 2, 1933, Behrens filed a "Record of Casualties to Vessel." It looked like a ship sitting upright on the lake bottom. The story ends with the bartender living in Hawaii and owning his own construction company. Many people dream about winning the lottery or being a great sports figure. I believe it is true. Will Richard Bennett ever find the Poverty Island treasure? You can unsubscribe at any time. Furious winds and lightning-swift currents have spawned a graveyard of sunken ships and over the years, intriguing tales of lost treasure. It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface. Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. One crew braved overcast skies and choppy waters to venture out to Poverty Island and film underwater terrain while another film crew worked just north of Cana Island. Ive heard this story many times. . Shipwrecks is a short novel translated from the Japanese by Mark Ealey. Nevertheless, Bennett is quite confident that he is very close to the treasure. Links: Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Courtesy Steve Libert "Probably 99 percent of that . Download our app for the latest ]. Hello Mr. Bennett Richard Bennett. They want what theyve found preserved. Scientists stunned at 'perfect' Ice Age discovery: 'Could have died Mary Rose breakthrough: Ship was 'six minutes from being saved', Archaeology: Shipwreck so well preserved you could walk down steps, 'Ship swallower' off British coast has claimed '50,000 lives', Bermuda Triangle bombshell as probe uncovered 80-year-old shipwreck. They say that big things come in small packages. In 1679, La Salle ordered his ship built in the wilderness above the great falls, launchingLe Griffon five months later in early May. It was built with the intention of finding a route through North Americas Great Lakes to reach China and Japan. Is a sunken fortune hidden in the bottom of Lake Michigan? Biology, nature, and cryptozoology still remain Brent Swancers first intellectual loves. The Lake Serpent, an eight-year-old, 47-foot schooner, left Cleveland in September 1829 for the 55-mile trip to the Lake Erie Islands.Upon arriving at the island rich with limestone, the ship's . Only then did Mr Libert and various archaeologists discover that the bowsprit and the remainder of the vessel were separate. Funny, as I was just thinking about this wreckI have to get Richard's info this week so I can research it. At the time, Union forces were beginning to gain the upper hand in the war, and the cash-strapped Confederates were frantically trying to raise money for their war effort. People are dumb. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Case File: Poverty Island Treasure Bennett is the author of: 1) Deep Quest The Entry 2) The Sunken Treasure of Poverty Island 3) Island of Bones and the award recipient of: Proof or not, it's certain that a storied chunk of the Great Lakes' mystery, romance and tragedy lies, somewhere, inthe watery grave of Le Griffon. Wish I could be there when you pull them out of the water! The Griffin, a large vessel built by French explorer Ren-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, disappeared on its maiden voyage some 343 years ago. Reports by French explorers and missionaries said Native Americans told them they saw the ship go down with all hands. But Im a dreamer, and Im a gambler. Will the underwater sled find the treasure? The scientists and divers searched a wider area Thursday near Poverty Island, a few miles offshore of a remote section of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with equipment that probes beneath the lake bed for signs of buried objects. 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. In June 2019, further misfortune befell the 200-acre island, which was struck by on-and-off fires throughout the land. The PADI 50 year Contributions Award 2016 If your research has been exhaustive then you know that it does exist. But off Poverty Island, a dot of land in northern Lake Michigan near Escanaba, French-Canadian brigands attacked the treasure ship and sank it, the legend says. Never give upand God go with you! The Griffin shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Michigan. The wreck believed to be the Griffin was found near Poverty Island on Lake Michigan. 'The Poverty Island Treasure Brief' can be found at. In the 1930s, there was also the story of a Karl Jesson, who was the son of the Poverty Island lighthouse keeper. The ship was constructed and launched on Cayuga Creek on the Niagara River as a seven-cannon, 45-ton barque. The ship was built in Ireland and was considered to be "unsinkable.". Sailors in the 20s almost had the chests. History: Richard Bennett, a professional diver and author of 'The Poverty Island Sunken Treasure Brief', has spent over forty-five years and $100,000 of his own money searching for a Civil War treasure in Lake Michigan. Most of what you may read in the near future about this subject will be gleamed from a new book that has just been printed. April 30, 2019. But Im a dreamer, and Im a gambler. The leader of our scuba diving club dove many times looking for the gold with no luck. It wouldn't be the only supposed lost treasure said to lurk down in the depths of the Great lakes and it surely makes one wonder. I think it was cases of rifles, now they would be contraband. 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. I spent my summers for 57 years snorkeling swimming and fishing in bay de noc. From then on, Steve's obsession grew. Today, Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed where others have failed. Who knows? In 1994, a TV program investigated the Door County legend that $400 million in gold lies submerged near Poverty Island. Fact; The chests were not hooked by the salvage crew that were searching in the 1930's no matter what you may have seen on NBC's Unsolved Mystries. "It started with a junior high teacher, talking about early European explorers. Pounded to pieces, the ship eventually sank. The action steadily rises, but Bodeen . I wish you good luck in your endeavor. I cant believe how much I have learned about the US Civil War and all its components. Remarkable images show the remainder of the ship detached from the bowsprit. Did they, the people from "Unsolved Mysteries," believe it to be true? Covid microchip developer says there's no stopping roll-out, Covid warning as another new variant with '46 mutations' infects 12. The team makes an astonishing discovery in the investigation of not just one but two shipwrecks. This is where different versions of the story begin to branch off from the main narrative. Behrens and his crew of four escaped and took refuge on Poverty Island. Without dreams life would be pretty boring. Stozicki said she contacted the Liberts after a patron left her a program from the Charlevoix Public Library, where Steve Libert spoke in November. 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. Rumors were that the bartender found the gold. 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. The Our World Underwater Award 2017 Marty and Rick Lagina meet in the War Room with Matty Blake and Gary Drayton to review and discuss the future of the most compelling treasure hunts they've explored so far "Beyond Oak Island." (New) Beyond Oak Island S3 Episode 3 The Riches of Poverty Island, October 11, 2022 8:59 pm - 10:03 pm. poverty island shipwreck. in shallow water near Poverty Island and Summer Island. The ship was 64.8 metres (212 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 9.9 metres (32 ft 6 in) and a draft of 3.7 metres (12 ft 2 in). | Special to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Traveling Back: Witnesses watch bridge lift car, police search for driver, Traveling Back: WWI vets honored fellow doughboys to the last man, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. You are using an out of date browser. Archaeology: Discovery of 'grand old' Pearl Harbour ship, Archaeologists stunned at shipwreck 'frozen in time', Nostradamus makes chilling 2022 'prediction' for EU collapse, Mountain range disappeared into Yellowstone supervolcano magma chamber. 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. 2101-2106, and filed a motion to dismiss. According to the boy, a storm hit that night, and the salvage ship sank with all the men on board. By Michael Greshko. Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com, Diving couple say they've found Great Lakes' oldest shipwreck, but doubters abound. Yetnone has accompanied Steve on his dives, the couple saidin an interview last week at theirwaterfront condominium in Charlevoix. 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.