Replica harkens back to Buckeye Lake’s past

BUCKEYE LAKE — After more than 150 years underwater, the Black Diamond canal boat is returning to Buckeye Lake. Sort of. The Buckeye Lake Historical Society and Museum is now home to a replica of the Black Diamond, a 50-foot, canal-era coal barge that sank in the lake in 1850. The museum will host an open house on Saturday to show off its new addition, a model crafted by an Alabama boat builder. About 26 inches long and 5 inches tall, it cost $10,000 and was paid for by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Considered a local legend, remains of the real Black Diamond were uncovered during the Buckeye Lake Dam rehabilitation project in 2016.

“We all knew it was there, us locals,” said J-me Braig, director of the society. “I always knew it was there.”

The replica is a fully functional model, complete with hatches, ropes, cabin furniture and a hand-carved figurine of the boat’s captain, Mr. Ward, who stands ready at the boat’s stern. It also includes a cargo load of coal pieces from the actual shipment the barge was hauling the day it sank, which were recovered by Lawhon & Associates during an archaeological dig.

While carrying a load of coal from Newark to Thornport in Perry County, the Black Diamond went down after hitting a tree stump beneath the water’s surface.

The four crew members on board made it safely to shore before the boat split in two and sank. Joseph Simpson, whose father was expecting to receive the coal, recalled visiting the scene of the wreck as a boy in his book, “The Story of Buckeye Lake.”

Some locals dove into the water to retrieve coal and furniture from the sunken boat, and the crew were already playing cards and drinking whiskey when help arrived, according to Simpson.

Then in 2016, construction crews raking the bottom of the lake made the discovery. More than 400 pieces of the boat were pulled during an archaeological dig, some about an inch and others a few feet long.

Initially after the discovery, some wanted to build a life-sized re-creation of the Black Diamond. But those plans were determined to be impractical, and Braig said it would have been impossible to use pieces from the original boat.

The replica will soon be part of a larger exhibit at the museum commemorating the Black Diamond, Braig A hand-carved, fully functional replica of the Black Diamond that sank in 1850 sits on display at the Buckeye Lake Historical Society and Museum.

said. In addition to the model, artifacts from the dig will eventually join the exhibit once money is raised for a proper display case.

A fourth-generation Buckeye Lake resident, Braig said the discovery of the Black Diamond will help take residents further back into the region’s history. Many people focus on Buckeye Lake’s old amusement park, but there’s so

much more to explore than just that, she said.

“It’s gonna open a whole new era of the Buckeye Lake history for people to enjoy,” Braig said.

The open house will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the museum, located at 4729 Walnut Road in Buckeye Lake.