Steamer "New Camelia"
Formally the "Zephyr", Doc # 130111
The first photo was taken on January 18, 1920, as the
vessel sank during the night. The steamer had been used to house shipyard
workers since 1917 and had become to weak even for that purpose. The
wreck of the "New Camelia" is just below the old Jahncke Shipyard site or
beginning at the South East property corner of the Lake Pontchartrain Maritime
Museum..
The vessel was 176' in length, with a 27.7' beam. Note the walking
beam just behind the stack as reference for the second photo.
The second photo was taken in 1950, depicting the deterioration of 30 years. The walking beam has fallen around the engine, but the top steam cylinder is prominent and above water. The deteriorated paddle wheels are seen in the background. In the late 80's, Dick Fields, who operated a shipyard on the west side of this parcel disassembled the top cylinder and placed it on the contiguous property where it remained for many years. The cylinder had a cracked flange as seen in the photo. The cylinder was later sold for scrap to a Baton Rouge firm.
It is my belief that a major portion of the "New Camelia" remains at this site today and was the initial snag for debris collected there thru the years. Fortunately, this location has not been used commercially since the sinking in 1920. The property remained under the ownership of the Poole family until the last few years. There are many other photos of this wreck which will be posted later. One photo shows a Mandeville man fishing next to the walking beam "A" frame. Another shows the remains of the pilothouse.