By Pamuella Mann, Class of 2013
The largest remaining artifact from the World’s Columbian Exposition, a Viking ship, is in Geneva, Illinois!
The Viking ship is a replica of the Gokstad, an ancient ship excavated in Norway in 1880. The Gokstad presently resides in the Oslo Viking Ship Museum. It and its replica are 78 feet long, 17 feet wide, and six feet high from the bottom of the keel to the gunwale.
This story began with the announcement that Chicago had been chosen to host the World’s Columbian Exposition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of the New World—which caused quite a stir around the world in the late 1800s.
The Spanish Government prepared to build reproductions of Columbus’s three caravels. About the same time, a group of Scandinavian Americans wanted the Government of Norway to loan the Gokstad to the Fair. When that request was refused, a public subscription was started in May, 1892 to raise funds to build a replica, and 15,000 people responded.
The replica was completed under the supervision of Magnus Andersen, who became the Captain of the ship. It was a beauty—with a carved dragon head and tail, rows of painted battle shields on both sides, and a colorful striped square rigged sail 20 feet across. Clinker built with planks fastened together with thousands of iron rivets, the Viking has a side-mount rudder. At sea, the hull was able to flex with the waves, and it could reach ten knots under favorable conditions.
From 280 applicants, Captain Andersen chose 10 sailors and one steward—most of whom had begun sailing by the age of 14 and had already made trips around the world. Although the three Columbus caravels were towed across the ocean, the Viking ship was launched on February 4, 1893, with 8,000 spectators watching. The ship traveled along the coast of Norway so people could see and admire her, before setting sail from Bergen on April 30, 1893.
The Viking sailed for 16 days without seeing another ship—-without a radio and completely alone on the ocean. It arrived in Newfoundland at 3 a.m. on May 27th—-just 28 days out from Bergen! Most historic Viking ships were built for sailing along the shore or on rivers, not on the open ocean, but the log of the Viking showed that it managed to cover 223 miles in one 24-hour stretch. The heavy weather encountered two weeks out was a challenge, but the Viking and its crew proved the sea-faring ability of the Norse ship design—-arriving in one piece with a surplus of food and water.
The Viking visited towns down the coast including Cape Cod, New London CT, Newport R.I. and New York City—being greeted by huge crowds on shore and flotillas of boats from each harbor. Besides the banquets and ceremonies along the way, there was an “incident” between the Brooklyn police and the crew!
Reaching Chicago involved a rough passage through the Erie Canal. The depth of the canal and the Viking were both about 6 feet and most of the 71 locks were 17 feet 6 inches wide—-and the ship measures 17 feet! The ship entered Lake Michigan on July 8, 1893, and sailed on to Milwaukee, Racine, and Evanston. A crowd of 50,000 welcomed the Viking to the Fair, and it proved to be one of the Fair’s most popular attractions.
As with the grand buildings, the Viking saw dark days after the Exposition closed. It made a treacherous journey down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where it spent the winter. There were many ideas about the future of the ship, but no funds to do anything, until money was raised to bring it back to Chicago. Its fate after that has been complicated, as the Viking deteriorated to the point that it needed major restoration. The Chicago Park District, which owned it in 1994, sold it to American Scandinavian Council for $1, and The Viking was moved to West Chicago for restoration. A dispute arose between the Council and the restoration company, whose warehouse closed two years later.
Arrangements were made to move the Viking, which was still in its restoration cradle, to Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois, and that’s where it presently resides. Details of all that happened from the close of the Fair until the present time can be found in a “By Whale Road to the World’s Fair” written by F.L. Watkins. ISBN: 1-55680-072-8. An English translation of a book about the voyage, written by crew member R.E. Rasmussen, also makes great reading. ISBN: 978-0-9916119-0-4.
Several not-for-profit organizations, with dedicated volunteers, have been working to find a permanent, climate-controlled home for the Viking. In 2007, Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley was able to secure recognition of the ship by Landmarks Illinois on its list of the Ten Most Endangered Historic Places. Also that year, the Viking won a $54,000 award from America Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be used to stabilize and preserve the ship. The Viking is presently owned by The Friends of the Viking Ship, which has undertaken its protection and preservation. The most exciting recent news is that the dragon head and tail of the ship, which had been stored at the Museum of Science and Industry, have been transferred to the Friends! If you want see the Viking, regularly scheduled tours are available once a month. (www.vikingship.us)
I serve as a Board member of Geneva History Museum, which is working with the Friends to help save this historic treasure, but donations are much needed and appreciated.
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Pam – thanks for the interesting article. I saw the original Gokstad in Oslo. Of course, they are very proud of it there. I seem to have a memory of the replica ship in Lincoln Park – not enclosed but just under a freestanding roof. Anyway – good work on salvaging it.
In addition to being a docent and serving on the Geneva History Museum board, Pam completed the U of C’s Basic Program too.