New mystery shipwreck surfaces at Fort Morgan (photos, video)
An unidentified shipwreck is exposed on the beach near Fort Morgan, Ala. on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. (Dennis Pillion |
dpillion@al.com)
Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.com
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Dennis Pillion | dpillion@al.com
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on December 20, 2013 at 7:51 PM, updated December 20, 2013 at 8:07 PM
Another Fort Morgan shipwreck surfaces: Dec. 20, 2013 FORT MORGAN, Alabama -- What appears to be a wooden shipwreck washed up on the beach near Fort Morgan. This wreck is different from the widely-publicized wreckage of the schooner Rachel, which is buried in sand but occasionally uncovered by storms about five miles east of the location of this wreck. (Dennis Pillion |
dpillion@al.com)
FORT MORGAN, Alabama -- Attention conspiracy theorists, mystery lovers and people with active imaginations: there's another shipwreck on Fort Morgan that needs a backstory.
This wreck is located on the beach near mile marker 1 on Fort Morgan Road, just across from the ferry terminal and the entrance to the fort.
It is not the same as
the wreckage of the three-masted schooner Rachel, which still sits on the beach about five miles to the east, near mile marker 6.
Some speculated the Rachel
wreckage was a Civil War blockade runner or a Prohibition-era smuggling ship before
Fort Morgan historian Mike Bailey ended the mystery last year, confirming with the help of the ship-builder's grandson Ken De Angelo that it was the schooner Rachel, which ran aground in 1923 near Fort Morgan.
According to
De Angelo's online postings, the ship was built to carry lumber from Mississippi to the Pacific, via Panama but ran aground on its first voyage, four years after its construction. The wreckage was too far ashore to be put back to sea so it was stripped of salvageable materials and burned on the beach.
With that mystery put to bed, speculation can now begin on the latest Fort Morgan shipwreck.
Brian O. Hill, director of the Fort Morgan State Historic Park, said Friday he was unaware of the wreckage closer to the fort and that park staff would investigate further.
See the photos above and watch the video to see more of the new old shipwreck and leave your theories in the comments section. If anyone has any actual knowledge of the wreck or the area, email Dennis Pillion at
dpillion@al.com
