In 1963, the steamer Fleurus caught fire and was sinking with an entire circus menagerie on board, including their cast of dozens of circus animals. The more the fire department fought the flames, the more the ship rolled to its side. This was a race against time to save the animals on board, while also making sure to keep people safe from the deadly animals.

This is the story of one terribly unlucky band of performers, their clunky old ship, and the heroic action of the locals and fire department of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The Kelly and Miller Brothers Circus had just purchased the SS Fleurus to transport that large circus of performers and wild animals around North America, planning to do an inaugural circuit around Nova Scotia, staging shows in Digby, Yarmouth, Shelbourne, and Liverpool, before moving on to Newfoundland. After the Yarmouth performance, a fire broke out aboard the vessel, jeopardizing the hundreds of animals on board.

Also discussed is the wreck of the Royal Tar in 1836.

Over a million people visit Catalina Island per year. Whether they’re visiting for the fine foods, the scenic accommodations, or to explore the rugged back country, there’s a unique draw to the Island that captures the imagination of all who’ve set foot here. While everyone’s adventure here is different, there’s one thing everyone can agree on - this island has style.

We’ve been invited on an exclusive and extensive behind the scenes tour of three of the most iconic structures on Catalina Island in California.

These buildings feature unique architecture, building methods, and perfectly preserved antique machinery that we will explore up close and personal. First, we’re visiting the Catalina Island Casino, the largest building on the island and one of the most iconic waterfront structures on the West Coast. Then, we’re climbing up to the Avalon Chime Tower to play the mechanism for ourselves. Lastly, it’s off to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens to end our day and our adventure.

On the misty evening of February 6th, 1951, the residents along Fulton Street in Woodbridge, New Jersey heard a thundering crash. Opening their doors, they saw the deadliest train wreck in state history. The worst wreck in American history since 1918... This was the Broker, which came off the rails taking the lives of 85 people and injuring hundreds more, scarring many for life, both physically and emotionally… it was officially deemed as a simple case of excessive speed, but frustrated investigations failed to get to the bottom of things, leaving many questions unanswered.

We’re using the advanced technology of Unreal Engine 5 to piece this wreckage back together, bringing the history to life like never before. Guided by historians, exploring the wrecksite, and hearing the stories directly from survivors, we’re re-examining this 73 year old case, and hopefully answering these questions once and for all.

It’s remote. It’s empty. And it’s sitting high up on the top of a mountain in the Flint Creek Range of the Rockies.
Granite is the home of unique ruins, a sprawling mill site, and what were once two of the longest aerial trams in the United States. Come along as we explore the ruins of this old mining town that was once one of the biggest cities in Montana, and at its height was the largest producer of silver in the world, earning this town the nickname “The Silver Queen”. This is the story of Granite, Montana. In this video, we explain the ruins of the mill site and what's accessible of the mine, as well as Main Street Granite, home of the Miner's Union Hall.

In late Spring, 2023, I was invited to visit the Milwaukee Clipper at her current berth in Muskegon, Michigan. It’s been over 80 years since she became the Milwaukee Clipper and almost 120 years since her first construction as the Juniata. She’s clearly worn out and tired, but the first impression is that she’s well loved.

In this video, we’re going to dive into the history of the oldest surviving Great Lakes passenger vessel, learn about the long and illustrious career it had under two completely different identities, and take a detailed tour of the museum ship today. We’ll be climbing deep into the lowest parts of the historic vessel, and seeing the hard work going into keeping one of the most important pieces of Great Lakes history afloat after 120 years.

Gunfights, Trainwrecks, and Gold. That’s what you’d find at the small, abandoned mining town of Bonnie Claire, Nevada, a junction between the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad and the Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad.

The history of Bonnie Claire, put simply, is a mess. There’s a lot that we don’t know. There’s a lot that the history books gloss over, and even meticulous publications of local history can’t give more than a couple paragraphs about the site.

I was drawn to it because of how photogenic the place is; there are some stunning shots I’ve seen photographers take at this ghost town, but the mystery of this town; the lack of documentation, and the

There are scattered ruins here; wooden buildings falling apart, stone buildings dating back farther, and a rusty, creaking old mill on the hillside. A wooden trailer, left behind by one of the last residents, and two lonely graves of young women, their information already partially obscured. The abandoned track beds coming through this railroad stop remind us of the town’s dependency on its two railroad companies, and give us a clue as to where the train wreck occurred, but beyond the immediate ruins, there’s more waiting to be discovered.

Looking back on the excitement and tragedy, the ups and downs, and the humble beginnings and lonely end, can we assemble this town’s story like never before? And can we find the earliest remains of the town-site, currently lost to the history books?

April Fool's Day, 1873 - The grand steamer Atlantic of the White Star Line crashes hard onto the rocks of Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia (not too far from Halifax), with almost 1,000 people on board. The ship is rapidly tearing apart as the waves batter it against the rocky coastline. The lifeboats wreck before they can escape and the stern sinks rapidly. It seems hopeless for everyone aboard Atlantic, but rescue is on its way in the form of a small group of local fishermen.

At that time, the SS Atlantic was the worst disaster in the North Atlantic to date, and the worst disaster for the White Star Line until the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. April 1st, 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the wreck, and even though it's a wreck I've covered thoroughly on my channel in the past, including with a detailed full length documentary, new research and a better understanding of the disaster make it worth revisiting this story.

Just one of these treasures would be worth over a billion dollars in today's money, and we're on the trail of two of them. We aren't looking for the treasures themselves, but the remains of those who hid them and others who spent their lives hunting for these treasures over the past 450 years. There's loot hidden by Spanish sailors to prevent it from being captured by Sir Francis Drake, and other treasure from a wrecked galleon salvaged by natives in the 1700's.

The Sachem has sat on a small tributary of the Ohio River for over 30 years now, rusting away and falling prey to vandals. Despite the fact that it gets occasional interest as an urban-exploration site, the history of this vessel has been so often overlooked and is rarely told. Having been built in 1901, she served in both World Wars, was Thomas Edison's special at-sea laboratory, and served around 3,000,000 passengers in her long career.

I also love that this exploration is a unique opportunity to cross the two main focuses on my channel. Aside from the rich maritime history, it's also a remote ruin that we get to climb into and explore.

Famous across the world for the ongoing underground fire which forced the town's abandonment, Centralia is located in central Pennsylvania. Let's explore the remains of this town, looking into the history before the fire, from plane crashes to gang violence with the Molly Maguires, through the causes of the fire, and to the terrible management of the situation which led to the near-total abandonment of a town that once was home to nearly 3,000 people.

The SS United States - America’s flagship. The fastest and safest ocean liner in history and a classified military service ship in the event of war. Winner of the Blue Riband and one of the last remaining classic ocean liners left in the world.

She sits, quiet and dormant, at Pier 82 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a reminder of the triumph of the trans-Atlantic passenger service, and waiting in hope for an eventual second life. Whatever may come of her, this ship has stories to tell us.

Thanks to the wonderful assistance of the SS United States Conservancy, my friends and I have been given access to the ship to come aboard, explore her history, uncovering it as we go below decks, and find parts of the ship never before seen online. We’ll take a step back into the 1950’s and 60’s, with this magnificent ship serving as our window to the past.

One of the worst maritime disasters in the United States actually occurred in downtown Chicago, at the Clark Street Wharf in 1915. The top-heavy, unstable SS Eastland took over 2,500 souls onboard and prepared to depart when she rolled over at her mooring.

The causes over the long, slow-burning lead up to the Eastland Disaster are muddy and a bit confusing, but with the help of detailed computer recreations in Unreal Engine 5 and in cooperation with the Eastland Disaster Historical Society, we do our best to paint a broad picture of the life and death of the unlucky ship, looking at the happy memories, the near catastrophes, and the changes over her career that built up to this disaster.

The Mary Celeste is one of the most infamously legendary sailing vessels in history, having been found adrift after her crew vanished. In this video, we not only explore the story of their disappearance, but the full history of this vessel, starting with her construction in Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia under the name Amazon, through her early career, her adventures and misadventures, and the long road that eventually led to her intentional destruction on the reefs of Haiti in 1885.

Find out more about the Age of Sail Heritage Centre at: https://ageofsailmuseum.ca/

The story of the Mary Celeste is one that I've wanted to do for a while but had no plan to make any time soon. Last week, my wife and I were able to visit her family in Nova Scotia for the first time since before the pandemic, and since Nova Scotia is where the Mary Celeste was built, I figured I'd gather the footage I need and finish the video whenever convenient (probably late 2023).

I worked with the Age of Sail Museum and the local Titanic society (since they more so cover general local maritime history), and in discussing this video, we realized the 150th anniversary is now. She was found on December 4th, and returned to Gibraltar on December 13th. There was nothing prepared to commemorate the anniversary of one of their most famous vessels, so we decided to light a fire under this project.

The documentary you're seeing was researched, written, filmed, edited, and animated all within about a week. It wouldn't have been at all possible without the help of my friend Alex, who did these beautiful animations for the project.

As night fell on January 8th, 1884, two boys spotted the barquentine ELMINA stuck on the shoal off Long Beach Island, New Jersey. The alarm was raised at the life saving stations of Long Beach, Ship Bottom, and Beach Haven and every effort was made to save the crew of the stranded vessel, but some things went dreadfully wrong.

In this video, learn about this unknown wreck remembered only in the 1884 report of the New Jersey Life Saving Stations, and also learn a bit about how these old time stations would use the Lyle Gun to bring souls ashore.

The Glenesslin was a beautiful, speedy windjammer built in Liverpool in 1885 that had an illustrious 27 year career, but the demise of this vessel is shrouded in mystery. Historians simply have no idea why the ship ran straight into a cliff in the middle of a clear day (though just how clear that day was is in question, hence the fog bank in the animation). The captain had been drinking and the possibility of fraud was explored, but nothing was ever confirmed.

Looking back on the ship's history, we find charming little stories of daily life at sea, the colorful characters who served aboard her, and even look at the roots of the Cunard White Star Line's first commodore.

Not only do we explore this ship's story, recreating it in Unreal Engine 5, but I visit the wrecksite near Manzanita, at the base of Neakahnie Mountain, and look to see if anything remains of the ship, believed to be long gone.

This video almost didn't happen. I mention in the video that I drove from Southern Nevada that morning - a 16 hour drive and only got to the wrecksite 10 minutes before sunset. That day was my only opportunity to film this, since I had to get to Washington that night and couldn't return. If I didn't make it to the site in that narrow window of opportunity, this video wasn't going to happen.

A special thank you to the Columbia River Maritime Museum for opening their collections to me for this video and helping to preserve this story. It was great working with them for both this and the Peter Iredale video last year. I have more in the pipeline with them.