In the early 1900s, Herman Schuenemann was
a known vendor in the Marine Christmas tree trade. Capt.
Schuenemann and his crew would cut trees from the northern
woods of Michigan, strap them down upon the ship and set
sail for Chicago. Once in port, he would sell the trees
off the deck of the sailing vessel Rouse Simmons.
Every year, families and their children
would gather at the pier and anxiously await the arrival
of the "Christmas Ship". On November 23rd,
1912, during a fierce winter storm with his ship covered
in ice Capt. Schuenemann and his crew of seventeen
with thousands of fresh-cut trees sank, not far from
the shores of Two Rivers Wisconsin.
The Legend of the Christmas Ship