MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site)
About this property
Maple Leaf is a United States National Historic Landmark in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Maple Leaf, a side paddlewheel steamship, was first launched as a freight and passenger vessel from the Marine Railway Yard in Kingston, Upper Canada in 1851. The 181-foot (55 m) sidewheel paddle steamer measured 24.7-foot (7.5 m) at the beam. Maple Leaf was a civilian merchant steamship, chartered as a transport by the Union Army during American Civil War, that struck a Confederate torpedo - what we would now call a mine - as she was crossing the St. Johns River near Jacksonville on April 1, 1864. Four crew members lost their lives in the sinking. This was the first mine casualty of the war. The screw steamer USS Norwich was dispatched to assess the condition of the wreck on April 2, and Captain Henry W. Dale concluded his ship and cargo as a total loss. Maple Leaf′s wreck site is located in the St. Johns River, to the west of the adjacent Mandarin neighborhood, in southeastern Duval County. The wreck was deemed a threat to river navigation so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had all structural components above the ship's main deck removed to clear the channel in the 1880s. The shipwreck was rediscovered by the St. Johns Archaeological Expeditions, Inc. in 1984. Volunteers identified the wreck in 1984. The shipwreck site has been given the Smithsonian trinomial 8DU8032. Because of the wreck's remarkable state of preservation (down to the line cleared in the 1880s), it is the most significant Civil War-era shipwreck yet discovered, and a good example of a mid-19th century Great Lakes steamer. On October 12, 1994, it was designated a National Historic Landmark. National Historic Landmark plaque located at 30° 19.461′ N, 81° 39.683′ W. National Register of Historic Places listings in Duval County, Florida Maple Leaf (Shipwreck Site) at Florida's Shipwrecks: 300 Years of Maritime History - A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) listed on the National Register?
MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 11, 1994.
What type of historic resource is MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site)?
MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site)?
The period of significance for MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site)?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near MAPLE LEAF (Shipwreck Site) will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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