Lecture: The Search for the Westmoreland

Local history buffs here is one for you the The Search for the Westmoreland, Lake Michigan’s Treasure Ship is going to be held at Hackley Library in Muskegon on May 27 at 6 PM. Author and shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson in exploring the legend, history and discovery of Lake Michigan’s treasure shipwreck.

What is the Westmoreland and Why is it Lake Michigan’s Treasure Ship?

According to Hackley’s announcement On December 7, 1854, the Propeller Westmoreland foundered in Lake Michigan, near Sleeping Bear Dune, killing seventeen of her crew and passengers. Seventeen crew and passengers lived, however, and landed in lifeboats on the shore of Platte Bay. Soon after the passenger steamer’s sinking, rumors began circulating of $10,000 in gold coins in her safe and 280 barrels of whiskey in her hold. For the next 150 years the Westmoreland was one of the most sought after shipwrecks in all the Great Lakes, eluding salvagers, treasure-hunters and divers alike.

Hackley Library: 316 W Webster Ave, Muskegon, MI 49440 231-722-7276

For more information visit: http://www.hackleylibrary.org