This is Amy Wagenaar from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. Thousands of shipwrecks are scattered across the Great Lakes. One the wreck of the steamer Rising sun lies just off Sleeping Bear Dunes. The Rising sun was owned by a Michigan religious community, the Israelite House of David. Benjamin Purnell and his wife Mary founded the House of David in Benton harbor in 1903. Members of the colony lived communally, espoused vegetarianism, celibacy and pacifism, and abstained from alcohol and tobacco. In 1912, to help support the communal order, Benjamin Purnell bought the lumber rights to 3,500 acres of land on High island in northern Lake Michigan. Colony members established a logging settlement on the island, complete with a sawmill to transport colonists, supplies and lumber. The House of David bought a 133 foot long steamer named the Minnie M and renamed her rising sun. On October 2, 1917, the rising sun steamed out of High island on her last voyage of the season, bound for Benton Harbor. Her skipper, Charles Morrison, was a non Israelite and a veteran sailor with 50 years experience on the Great Lakes. On board were 18 crewmen and 14 passengers heading back to the main colony for the winter, plus a cargo of lumber, potatoes and turnips. The weather was bad when the Rising sun left High island, but Captain Morrison decided to cast off and seek shelter in a harbor along the Lake Michigan coast. That night, in darkness and a driving blizzard, the Rising sun ran aground off Pyramid Point, about seven miles south of Sleeping Bear Point. A steam pipe burst, putting the engine and electrical system out of commission. The Rising sun lay broken and helpless some 200ft offshore. Crew and passengers launched the ship's lifeboats. Somehow, despite wind, waves and freezing water came. Everyone made it safely to shore. Nearby residents alerted the Coast Guard, who arrived in time to rescue one elderly passenger, Ben Putnam, who had somehow slept through the whole shipwreck and awakened to find the ship abandoned in the surf. The Rising sun went to pieces, scattering lumber, potatoes and turnips along the beach. Her engine and boiler remain at the wreck site to this day, easily visible in the waters of the Manitou Passage. Her name board is exhibited in the Leelanau Historical Society Museum. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.