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Return the City of Dresden Sign!

This gofundme page is to allow the community of Norfolk County to come together to purchase the sign "City of Dresden" to ensure our history remains in Norfolk. The City of Dresden is a remarkable piece of our "colourful" heritage in the age of rum running. This is one of very few surviving remnants of this time period contained in our municipality and to remove this does a disservice to future generation to learn of our collective past. This is the chance for the people of Norfolk to come together to preserve our collective heritage. If the campaign is successful the sign will be donated to the Norfolk County Heritage and Culture Department. 

All procedes donated will go directly in trying to purchase the sign, with any remaining funds going as a donation with the sign. Please consider funding this amazing campaign to ensure the heritage of Norfolk County is preserved for future generations.

The following is from the Simcoe Reformer detailing the history and significance of the City of Dresden.

"A colorful piece of Norfolk’s past is on the auction block in New Hamburg.

Miller and Miller Auctions has been commissioned to sell the name board of the steamer City of Dresden.

Those familiar with the lore and legend of Long Point will smile in recognition. The City of Dresden was the boat that washed ashore near Port Rowan in 1922 with a hold full of contraband whisky.

The gavel comes down on the artifact Feb. 10. The auction house estimates it will sell for between $3,000 and $3,500. Miller and Miller contacted The Reformer in case someone wants to buy it for a local museum.

“If there’s some donor that’s interested in the history, this is a great opportunity to return it to Norfolk,” said Ethan Miller, a partner in the auction house.

The late historian Harry Barrett, of Port Dover, shared details of the Dresden incident in a story titled, The Night The Whisky Ship Ran Aground.

As Barrett tells it, the City of Dresden was a rickety steamer en route to Michigan with 1,000 cases and 500 kegs of Corby’s whisky. This being Prohibition, the shipment was allegedly destined for Mexico.

On Nov. 17, 1922, all was well until the steamer reached Long Point. A gale blew up and Capt. John McQueen was forced to seek shelter in Long Point Bay.

When the wind shifted to the northeast, choppy water forced McQueen to seek shelter on the south side of Long Point. As he rounded the tip, McQueen was forced to lighten his load. He jettisoned kegs and cases of whisky, which washed up on shore.

A lone patrolman at a lifesaving station could not believe his good fortune. He buried dozens of kegs and cases for later retrieval.

The Dresden proceeded down the south shore toward the mainland. The steamer hit a sand bar in the area of Hastings Drive and broke apart.

At least one crew member drowned but most were saved. For the next two days, residents of the Port Rowan area spirited away cases and kegs of prime, contraband whisky.

Liquor officials showed up two days later. They managed to retrieve only a small fraction of what was lost. In later years, there were reports of farmers paying off their mortgages with the proceeds of the illegal alcohol.

In his report on the Dresden incident, Barrett said sand-blown bottles of Corby’s turned up on the beach at Long Point for many years afterward. He said that entire kegs and cases were uncovered along Hastings Drive when cottage construction began there in later years.

Dickie Edwards, the liquor inspector responsible for tracking down the illegal booze, notarized the name board as part of his investigation, according to the auction house.

Miller said the name board is part of the estate of the late Tom Brunton, who acquired the relic from a cottager in the Long Point area.

The board measures eight feet by 8.5 inches. It was displayed for a time at the Harbour Museum in Port Dover around 2005."

Organizer

Wesley Wilson
Organizer
Simcoe, ON

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