Dauphin Island Times

Looks like what's left of the Robert H. Dixey may be destined for the landfill. Amateur archaeologist Glenn Forest has given up on his efforts to recover and preserve the huge fragment of a sunken ship found under a West End Dauphin Island vacation house.

He and about a dozen volunteers dug out the huge fragment, but unfortunately he lacks the resources he needs to remove and transport it. And that's only where his problems begin. As it turns out, nobody wants it. The State of Alabama, the Town of Dauphin Island, the Historical Commission - none of them have any use for it. The fragment creates problems for whoever assumes responsibility and ownership, namely an obligation to store and preserve it. And these things take time and money.

According to the Alabama Historical Commission, things that wash up on the beach become the private property owner's responsibility.

If you found out you now owned a 5-ton chunk of the 19th century clipper cargo ship Robert H. Dixey, would you keep it?

Related story
Original stories about the Robert H. Dixey here and here