Ep 281 - The Ashtabula port curse

In the early 1800s, Ashtabula shipbuilders lost nearly a dozen vessels in about 15 years, leading the superstitious industry to wonder if there was a curse on the port. We tell the stories behind five of those lost ships, including the Superior, which met a diabolical end, and the Elisha Whittlesey, upended in a terrible gale. The other three - the Tempest, the Elizabeth and the LaFayette Packet - were wrecked with Capt. Benjamin Napier at the helm. We also digress into the life of Napier, a man admired but mostly feared after he later became Lake Erie's land pirate, attempting to lay claim to Kelley's Island and kick off its inhabitants. www.ohiomysteries.com feedback@ohiomysteries.com www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Additional music: New Horizon - Aderin; Audionautix- The Great Unknown; The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices