You just never know what you'll find during a walk on the beach.
A shipwreck believed to be 132 years old was recently found on the Jersey Shore over the weekend. Burned-up slats from the ship were seen jutting out of the beach after sand levels recently shifted and exposed their hidden booty, if you will.
And local historians believe they've narrowed down exactly which ship it is: the D.H. Ingraham, a schooner that orginiated in Rockland, Maine and was headed for Richmond, Virginia.
The ship caught fire and sank a mile and a half north of the Hereford Inlet in North Wildwood on Dec. 4, 1886, as the Ocean City Life-Saving Museum told the New York Post. It was carrying either limes, or a load of the mineral lime (accounts seem to vary) at the time.
Five crewmembers were rescued from the shipwreck at the time, and the team of seven rescuers received Congressional Medals of Honor for their heroism.
The area where the shipwreck was found, Hereford Bay, was a known dangerous spot for ships in the 18th and 19th centuries, before the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was built.
According to Steve Murray, former chairman of the Friends of Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, there were some 60 shipwrecks in the inlet from the late 1700s to around the turn of the 20th century.
He agreed that the shipwreck was likely the Ingraham, telling the Press of Atlantic City:
"There's a very good possibility that it's the Ingraham. It's exciting to be able to touch it after talking about it for so long."
On social media, people were delighted by this rare historical find!
And some couldn't help but reference a certain iconic reality show...
No word as yet on Snookie's thoughts on this momentous historical find, but we'll keep you posted!
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