The Coast Guard ship Bramble is currently being considered by the Michigan State Preservation Review Board as a possible candidate for National Register of Historic Places. It was commissioned in 1944 and has been one of only 3 coast guard ships that have sailed entirely around North America, having traversed the infamous Northwest Passage in 1957. The 4500 mile trip took over two months to complete. The ship is owned by the Port Huron Museum and it used to be open for tours, but lacking funds, the museum is seeking other means of support.
I am the author of the Register nomination.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to successfully transiting the NW Passage, Bramble is one of only three ships left in the U.S. and seven in the world that participated in Operation Crossroads, the major postwar atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, Pacific in July 1946.
The National Register nomination was unanimously approved by the State Historic Preservation Review Board on May 18 and will be forwarded to the National Park Service for probable listing within the next 45 days. This is an honor long overdue for Bramble.
The amateurs at the PH Museum are not looking for other means of support. The administration wants to get rid of the ship, period. Bramble was never operated to meet her potential as a museum vessel nor was she promoted so that people realized what a historic treasure she is. Stuck at an unmarked berth at the south end of Port Huron, she was out of sight, out of mind. Now she's for sale and threatened.
Thank you, Jon Ottman, for more detailed information on this historic ship. Suzie
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