Search for the Griffon - Great Lakes oldest shipwreck

  With this latest news release from the Detroit Free Press , it appears that my friend, Steve Libert might get a very legitimate opportunity to explore and identify a shipwreck that many feel might be the lost LaSalle vessel named Griffon. Barring any other bureaucratic or governmental intervention, Mr.Libert and his Great Lakes Exploration Group will be working in coordination with Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History curator, Scott Demel, to explore the wreck site and provide clues into this old ship's identity. I commend Mr. Libert for working with the academic and nautical archaeology community for working on this expedition.

Since the Griffon has been such a personal interest of mine for almost 35 years, I would like to include a few pictures (courtesy of Kathleen Joyce) of the original monument at where the site of this historic ship was built at the apex of where Cayuga Creek runs into the Niagara River approximately six miles east of Niagara Falls. This marker was dedicated by the City of Niagara Falls NY in May 1902 and was placed adjacent to the city's boat launch opposite Cayuga Island and very near to the infamous Love Canal.  This section of Niagara Falls is called LaSalle and is dedicated to the memory of the brave explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de LaSalle and his significant role in the exploration of the Great Lakes.