Christmas Tree Ships

In the post-Civil War Victorian era, if you didn't tramp into the woods and cut down a Christmas tree, you could buy one, thanks to schooners that carried the cut trees into the Great Lakes region. Transporting them was no small task, since the sailers often encountered ice and blustery winter storms.

One of those ships, the Rousse Simmons, is now legendary among Christmas Tree Ships. It is considered to be the only such ship not damaged in an 1889 storm, but it wasn't impervious to the elements. It met an unfortunte fate on Nov. 27, 1912.

Read about it here: www.chicagohistoryjournal.com/2007/12/christmas-tree-ship.html

For some quick reading on Christmas Tree Ships, go here: http://christmastreeship.homestead.com/index.html