Maybe somebody will find that ship someday,'and he touched me on the shoulder.". The ship was assessed . The Griffin, Mr Libert believes, was caught in a four-day storm. 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. Cargo is scattered on the bottom with visibility typically ranging from 5 to 25 feet. Dimitrios Shipwreck. Many people dream about winning the lottery or being a great sports figure. Poverty Island Lighthouse, U.S. Coast Guard Archives, PovertyIsland is located in northern lake Michigan and one of several islands marking the entrance to Big Bay De Noc and Green Bay, as in the bay in lake Michigan, not the city. That's a lot of our country," Steve Libert said. The wreck was found near Poverty Island on Lake Michigan, almost 350 years after it vanished. As for the Griffon? By Hannah Pennington, Published on Jul 28, 2022. According to the boy, a storm hit that night, and the salvage ship sank with all the men on board. (1,509 ft 2 in) off Poverty Island, Michigan on 21 April 1984. Some say that the native Indians boarded the ship and killed the crew. Subscribe for new episodes announcements, latest news, featured cases, and more! Its like being the first man to climb a mountain. Many theories and speculations arose and while the date is often wrong (some sources state that the event . In 2001, a famous Great Lakes shipwreck hunter, Steve Libert, claimed her wreck in Northern Lake Michigan near Poverty Island. However, Richard believes that there would be no record because the treasure was brought during a clandestine operation. If they survive 100 years, they probably have an 80, 85% chance of being true. Luck is as important as working capital. May I get to know you sir. He has said of his search: I am sincere; this is not a hoax. French archeologists who visited the site at the Liberts' invitation have said they believe the couple is on to something; they even staked a claim for France for whatever wreckage turns up, Steve and Kathie Libert say in their 2021 book, "Le Griffon and the Huron Islands," published by Traverse City's Mission Point Press (about $26in softcover and$35in newly released hardcover). He has identified a debris scatter in 40-60 feet of water, adjacent to the shore of Poverty Island, which includes planks, a cable, barrels, and several areas of magnetic declination. Both the Door County Maritime Museum and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum inManitowoc were utilized for historical aspects of the story. Rum Runner, You are correct about many people looking for the Treasure of Poverty Island. Above in this page talked about the sea stories he heard as a young man. So coming in the back door was longer, but had higher odds of succeeding. He said: My interest began the day my teacher reached over and touched my shoulder, and said out loud in class, Maybe one day, someone in this class will find it., Fifty-one years later, I am still intrigued by this story.. In 1984 he found an anchor. The original story from the 1980s tells of a bartender from Washington Island that dove many times also looking for the five chests. From then on, Steve's obsession grew. "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. A bowsprit discovered a few miles away in 2001 is another part of the . said a Chicago man named Frank Pea spent three summers in the late 1930s and early 1940s exploring the depths around Poverty Island with a ship named the St. Lawrence and a diving bell. No new facts were discovered during filming,nor was any gold. It is believed to be the location of a treasure of five chests filled with gold bullion and coins worth today around $400 million. I have no problem that you are using the underwater shots, but I would like a photo/video by Richard T. Bennett tag. Its cold. Results: Unsolved. 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. A hard-luck ship: 6 lives were lost in a boiler explosion, 1871; sank in Welland Canal, 1872; major fires in 1880, 1892, 1898, 1899 and 1906, sank on Lake Superior [Portage Canal] in 1906. . Thanks for the offer, however I have never taken any money for our search for the Poverty Island Treasure search and after 50 years of being involved I dont think its in the future. The sunken salvage ship Captain Lawrence from 1933 was discovered in 1993 and found not to contain the gold. However, as the wooden boxes were brought to the surface, the chests broke free and returned to the watery depths. It sank in the North Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City on April 14th, 1912. find one that is plausible for you and do the research. looking for the lost gold of Poverty Island. It also lies in Michgan (the state) waters. Feltner believes that the legend of the treasure is a good story, but holds no truth: Records of shipwrecks on the great lakes in the year 1863 are extremely good. For students of history, of any age, the Liberts' book is a good example of using primary source documents old maps and woodcuts from centuries-old books; records left by Jesuit missionaries, who traveled through the area of the Griffon's last sightings in 1670-1672; and thediaries of expedition leader Robert Cavelier de la Salle and of the exploring party's missionary priest, Father LouisHennepin. Hello Mr. Bennett I think you sent me an e-mail about your Poverty Island screenplay. But some believed that, while traveling inland to Chicago, the ship was attacked and sank. Theyve vowed to take nothing atthe dive site that is, nothing butunderwater photos and video. "We don't really have anything onthe Griffon. in shallow water near Poverty Island and Summer Island. 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. 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. The big questions is has anyone else found it and recovered it and kept there mouth shut. In 1929, a group of sailors were said to have snagged the five chests with their anchor. The Light was permanently deactivated and abandoned in 1995 and the old discarded lantern room laying on the ground was retrieved and used to restore the Sand Point Lighthouse ( you can see my post HERE). Around 300 passengers responded by climbing on to the deck, with large waves washing some out to sea. Sunday, 5th March 2023See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. Maybe because of Povertys inherit dangerous location this may not be for you. Rrrrrrrrrr/shiver me timbers/another treasure story/ Im hopeing this ones true/all I can say is/PLEASE/PLEASE/BE CAREFUL/Ive personally saved 5 children from drowning / including myself twice/true story/ MAY GOD BE WITH YOU /and PLEASE donate/some of the findings to /ST. 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 . Le Griffon and the Huron Islands 1679: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery was written by Mr and Mrs Libert and published by Mission Point Press in 2021. Years later, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas and killed in 1687 by mutinous soldiers, according to historians cited by the Liberts. . The most popular origin for the story of Poverty Islands lost treasure begins in 1863, during the American Civil War. The Liberts' book also uses interpretative history color photosshot above water and below; Kathie's line drawings that depict the Griffon buffeted by the storm that sank it, as well as showing details of its likely hull design, and numerous contemporary maps of northern Lake Michigan. Despite that belief, there is a story that a group of sailors might have accidentally snagged one of the trunks in 1929. It looked like a ship sitting upright on the lake bottom. Up it came, just seconds away, a fortune in gold, when suddenly the chains broke. Case File: Poverty Island Treasure So you spent 35 years looking for this treasure, are you any closer to finding it? All Rights Reserved. What about that guy from escanba, that looked for it, and then retired in Florida. Also reported ashore on Twin River Point . If you have finances why not do your own search. While this sounds like just an old sailor's legend, there are some historical accounts that somewhat give the story credence. "I've been interested in this ship since I was 14," he said in an interview in Charlevoix last week. Be very careful of rock ledges and shoals on the south and east entrance of Jackson Harbor; stay between the red and green markers. Mr and Mrs Libert claim The Griffin matches wreckage found in 2018 near Poverty Island in Lake Michigan. Nevertheless, Bennett is quite confident that he is very close to the treasure. Date: 1863 And dont even get me started on the whole God thing, singular or plural. 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. Any story that survives 100 years has to have some validity to it. 37: Poverty Island", "Feature Detail Report for: Poverty Island", Seeing The Light Poverty Island Lighthouse, Inventory of Historic Light Stations-Michigan-Poverty Island Light, Le Griffon: The Great Lakes' greatest mystery, "Divers begin Lake Michigan search for Griffin ship - Yahoo! 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. Many believed the Jesuits were responsible for the ships disappearance. Archive of past shows: 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2000 1999 1998 1997 The other nearby wreckage, meanwhile, had been dated to between 1632 and 1982. The Coronado shipwreck is located south of Hotel del Coronado, a historic hotel in San Diego, in front of the El Camino Tower of the Coronado Shores condos. Since its disappearance, it has been widely considered the Holy Grail for Great Lakes shipwreck hunters. 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. Furious winds and lightning-swift currents have spawned a graveyard of sunken ships and over the years, intriguing tales of lost treasure. Sailors and divers have had odd experiences near this wreck. The Liberts say the wreck lies neartiny, uninhabited Poverty Island, part of a chain of islands that runssouthwestinto Lake Michigan from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He's written articles for MU and Daily Grail and has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and Binnal of America. From the pages of the Door County Advocate of years gone by. 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. 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. La Salle was certain that the captain and his men committed mutiny, sank the ship and absconded with all the furs.. The legend and the attempts to discover the treasure caught the ear of the producers of the highly popular, 14-season television series Unsolved Mysteries. The program, which ran from 1988 to 2002, used a documentary format to profile real-life mysteries and featured re-enactments of unsolved crimes, missing persons cases, conspiracy theories and unexplained paranormal phenomena such as alien abductions, ghosts, UFOsand "secret history" theories. According to the legend, Napoleon Bonaparte was desperate to assist the South during the Civil War. In the storm, the salvage boat was lost. Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekendon AmazonHERE, It would really mean a lot to me if you Subscribe to Lost In Michigan, Do you want to know when I post something new? A coast guard boat carrying bodies arrives in port after the shipwreck. The Liberts' book, Le Griffon and the Huron Islands - 1679: Our Story of Exploration and Discovery, is . It's an exciting story of missing treasurepassed down through time, a tale that is intriguing and, well, maybetrue. I new book will be available in a few weeks, Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. The most popular origin for the story of Poverty Island's lost treasure begins in 1863, during the American Civil War. It wasthe first big ship to sail the Great Lakes. Wisconsin. Today, Richard Bennett feels confident that he will succeed where others have failed. Behrens and his crew of four escaped and took refuge on Poverty Island. Another skeptic is Corey Adkins, communications content director for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. The plausible theory is that during the Civil War, a shipment of gold from Napoleon Bonaparte was being transported thru the great lakes down the Mississippi to fund the Confederate army. Poverty Island. My grandfather spent half of his life after coming home from WWII with a friend in Benzonia, MI. The Society's website, viewed last week, hadthree paragraphs about the Griffon, including the sentence: "In 2001, a famous Great Lakes shipwreck hunter, Steve Libert, claimed her wreck in northern Lake Michigan near Poverty Island." SHIPWRECKS Found Shipwrecks Lost Shipwrecks Surf Zone Shipwrecks (lost and found) Airplane Losses. The delivery came down the St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada and into Lake Michigan en route to Chicago, but somehow, the Union became aware of the delivery and attacked the boat. SSI Platinum 5000 Diving Award 1993, 518 Water Street Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085, Second Saturdays - Journeys Into Local History, The Sunken Treasure of Poverty Island with Richard Bennett. There were considerable changes to the story line for the sake of TV time constraints. You are using an out of date browser. As shipping traffic increased on the Great Lakes it was decidedthat a light was needed to guide ships safely thru the chain of islands at the entranceto Green Bay. I have read the above comments and hope to provide you a feature movie someday. It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface. imagine a case of whitworth rifles, ahhhh. Charlevoix diver Steve Libert says he's 99.99% sure he has found the wreckage of a French ship that sank in 1679 in Lake Michigan. News", Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poverty_Island&oldid=1140233398, Upper Peninsula, Michigan geography stubs, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 03:07. The ship lays upside down in 80 feet of water and rises 25 feet from the bottom. Steve Harrington, a maritime historian, is convinced the treasure is still located off the coast of Poverty Island: I think thats one of the most intriguing things about this legend is that its consistent in that the loss is always at Poverty Island. Rumors were that the bartender found the gold. To answer Joe from the 8-30-16 comment: Your right Joe, that was the point, to be odd. 'The Poverty Island Treasure Brief' can be found at. It was explained that by using local talent, production costs could be lowered and the community had a part in the project. It is only a speck of rocky land just east of Wisconsin, surrounded by the chilly waters of Lake Michigan. Divers reported that while looking up toward the . After a long courtship and college degrees, they married in 1981. An estimated 500 to 1,000 vessels fell victim to its whims, mostly in the 18th and 19th Centuries. When we started it was dead-reckoning each time we went out. I'd be more than happy to help. Remarkable images show the remainder of the ship detached from the bowsprit. Eduard Bohlen, Namibia. Reuters. 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. I live on the garden peninsula a few miles north of poverty island and have always been intrigued by the story. Did they, the people from "Unsolved Mysteries," believe it to be true? 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. Poverty Island is a small island in the U.S. state of Michigan. Spending years building long running, fast boats he could outrun the storm in, once getting to the island from Traverse City area. The wreckage lies approx. The ship log might also contain information regarding the treasure. June 27, 2022; how to get infinite lingots in duolingo; chegg payment options; poverty island shipwreck . Now, the celebrity part of the story. The U.S. Lighthouse Board commissioned a Lighthouse to be built on Poverty island in 1874 using the same design as the Lighthouse on Sturgeon Point near Harrisville on Lake Huron, ( you can read my post HERE) The Light was automated in 1958 and by 1965 the Lantern room at the top of the tower and the lens had been removed and replaced with an exposed electric light. Steve Libert, a well-known Great Lakes shipwreck hunter and president of Great Lakes Exploration Group LLC, claimed he found the Griffon in 2001 in Northern Lake Michigan near Poverty Island. Now, the program was on its way toDoor County. Never give upand God go with you! ", [ Want more news like this? This video by Steve and Kathie Libert is from the location where they found the wreckage from the Le Griffon. It is believed to be the location of a treasure of five chests filled with gold bullion and coins worth today around $400 million. Half an hour later, the ship listed to its port side, and passengers trapped below . 2020 MYSTERIES & HISTORIES. Ferries to Zakynthos run 7 times per day between 5:30am and 10:30pm and cost . Id love to join Mr Bennett and help , and fund his search. But Im a dreamer, and Im a gambler. It is difficult to tell how many people actually dived near Poverty Island over the years. The orginal 8 minute program was cut to 6 minutes because the program was moved into their 200th Anniversary Show. La Salle named the shipLe Griffon, after the mythical creature whose body of a lion has the head and wings of an eagle. Is a sunken fortune hidden in the bottom of Lake Michigan? I doubt the Poverty Treasure has been found. In the 1860s, this place was in the middle of a huge boom in maritime shipping and commerce, as the area has many steel mills and was connected to the booming Peninsula Railroad. They must have a source where it could be integrated into a normal flow of gold supplies. The Our World Underwater Award 2017 Shipwreck. 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. . I for one started before we had any formal search devices, side scan, GPS that sort of equipment. Several diagnostic artifacts were recovered from the site . Le Griffon was the first full-sized European style sailing ship on the upper Great Lakes that was built and commanded by the French explorer Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1679. Is the treasure of Poverty Island real, or is it just myth and legend? Location: Michigan However, historian Chuck Feltner disagrees. This might seem like wishful thinking until you realize that in that era France coveted the steady cotton crop they received from the South, something it was thought would be disrupted with a Union victory.