The Saugeen Times

H.M.S. General Hunter opens at Bruce County Museum

Feature

To Comment on this article Click Here

British soldier greets guests

The 'Official Greeters'

Guests begin to gather under the tent

Bruce County Museum Curator-Director, Barbara Ribey, Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith and Brockton Mayor & Bruce Country Warden David Inglis

More than 300 guests flooded into the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre in Southampton on Monday, June 18th for the grand opening of the H.M.S. General Hunter exhibit.

The exhibit commemorates the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and the key battles that took place on the Great Lakes.

Exhibit Project Leader, Ken Cassavoy

The H.M.S. General Hunter, a British warship built by William Bell in Amherstburg, Ontario near the mouth of the Detroit River, was taken by the Americans at the famous Battle of Lake Erie. Built in Amherstburg, Ontario by shipbuilder, William Bell, the General Hunter originally was a brig that was outfitted with at least ten cannon, sailing the Great Lakes as part of the British Royal Navy.

[To learn more about the planning group Click Here or to view many articles on the General Hunter go to: Many articles ]

Today, however, the ship returned to historical significance when its hull was found buried beneath the sands of the Southampton Beach in Saugeen Shores on Lake Huron, one of the most famous shipwrecks ever discovered on the upper Great Lakes.

'Builder William Bell (L) & Captain Frank Roulet'

The discovery of the ship and her role in the War of 1812, began what was to be one of the most ambitious undertakings at the Bruce County Museum - an authentic replica of the ship constructed by local volunteers, most of them retirees with a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience that they brought to the project.