Term: Christmas tree ship
Definition:
colloquial name for the schooner Rouse Simmons, built in Milwaukee in 1868. It brought Christmas trees from northern Wisconsin to Chicago each Thanksgiving until its captain, Herman Schuenemann, became affectionately known as "Captain Santa." Fully loaded and ready to sail, the Rouse Simmons set out in a storm on Nov. 23, 1912, and despite the crew's best efforts, sunk off the coast of Two Rivers in Manitowoc County. View more information at Odd Wisconsin. Read the 2008 archaeological report detailing the ship's history and results of an underwater investigation of the shipwreck.
[Source: Wisconsin's Maritime Trails at http://www.maritimetrails.org/visit.cfm]
