The Rouse Simmons was a three-masted schooner famous for having sunk in a violent storm on Lake Michigan in 1912. The ship was bound for Chicago with a cargo of Christmas trees when it foundered off the coast of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, killing all on board.
The legacy of the schooner lives on in the area, with frequent ghost sightings and tourist attractions whereby its final route is traced. It was known as "The Christmas Tree Ship" and was one of many schooners to transport Christmas trees across the lake. However, with railroads, highways, and tree farms proving much more economical, the tree-shipping industry was on a steep decline and they had stopped sailing by 1920.
The Rouse Simmons was built in Milwaukee in 1868 by Allan, McClelland, & Company, and named after a Kenosha businessman Rouse Simmons. The schooner was soon purchased by wealthy lumber magnate Charles H. Hackley of Muskegon, Michigan and joined his sizeable fleet. Hackley's ships served across most of Lake Michigan's coastline, and the Rouse Simmons became a workhorse, shipping lumber from company mills to several ports around the lake for around 20 years. At its peak the schooner was making almost weekly runs between Grand Haven and Chicago.
Rouse Simmons (September 10, 1832 – September 10, 1897) was an American politician and businessman.
Born in Marcy, New York, Simmons moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1849. He was a merchant and was in the insurance and real estate business. His brother was Zalmon G. Simmons. Simmons served on the Kenosha County, Wisconsin Board of Supervisors. In 1875, Simmons served in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican. He died in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The schooner Rouse Simmons was named after Simmons.