Great Indoor Folk Festival ~ Feb 12, 2012
The Wreck of the Rising Sun
All November on Absolute Michigan we are featuring shipwrecks.  Leelanau is not without its own shipwrecks stories, and the tale of the wreck of the Rising Sun is one of these (be sure to click the pic for a larger view too!). Pyramid Point - Shipwrecks of the Manitou Passage from Life Along the Manitou Passage probably tells it best:
The remains of a shipwreck can be seen if you stand on top of Pyramid Point with the sun at your back. In the water below lies what is left of the iron boiler of the steamship RISING SUN.
The date was October 29, 1917. Coming south through the Manitou Passage, the steamship RISING SUN was going south for the winter carrying farmers and their harvest from Summer Island. She strayed off course in high winds and snow and went aground at night on the Pyramid Point shoal. Passengers and crew struggled ashore through the frigid surf and sought help from farmers living in nearby Port Oneida. The Sleeping Bear Point Coast was alerted and arrived by surf boat the next morning to find only an elderly man still on board. He slept through the ship's grounding!
An interesting side note is that the Rising Sun was owned by the House of David, a religious organization based in Benton Harbor that is a fascinating story as well! You can also check out the location of the Rising Sun and other Leelanau shipwrecks on this diving map of Leelanau.
The photo comes from the excellent online photo collection of the Traverse Area Historical Society. It was taken on October 29, 1917 by Carrie (Labare) Craker. (From the left) Martha (Popa) Craker is shown holding her daughter Julia Craker, W. A. Craker and Clifford Craker. The remainder are unidentified.
This was my Great Grandfathers ship. Him and my grandmother were on the boat when the wreck happened. I would like to have more information if you have it.
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Comment by Michael Novak — April 28, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
We are planning a feature on this wreck this summer.
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Comment by Andrew McFarlane — April 29, 2009 @ 9:06 am