The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 39, September 11, 2005, Article 14

GOLD RUSH ERA SHIP FOUND IN SAN FRANCISCO

Arthur Shippee forwarded the following article from MSNBC:

"The remains of a massive Gold Rush-era sailing ship dating to
the early 1800s have been discovered at the site of a large
construction project in downtown San Francisco, archaeologists
at the scene confirmed Tuesday.

The ship's decaying bow peeked through mounds of earth as
workers under the direction of an archaeologist brushed away
generations of dirt from its aging timbers. A dig crew unearthed
the first portions of the ship last week as they carved away dirt
to lay the foundation for a 650-unit condominium development."

"It's not the first such find; the city's financial district rests atop a
nautical morgue, of sorts, with hundreds of ships forming a portion
of the landfill that used to be prime waterfront.

Allan said the ship remains do not have anything of value in it,
other than history.

The ship was likely abandoned as Gold Rush fever overtook
the region in the mid-1800s. In the 1850s, as many as 600 ships
were abandoned in San Francisco's harbor, burned or simply
junked by owners who switched their focus to mining the rich
gold veins in the state's interior, according to Wolfgang Schubert,
who gives historical walking tours of the San Francisco's waterfront
for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area."

To read the full story, see:  Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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