REVISITING TIFFT: REVEALING A BURIED LAKE FREIGHTER USING GROUND PENETRATING RADAR

Tifft Nature Preserve south of Buffalo, NY, has gone through several transformations over the last more than 150 years. From 1858 through 1883, the Tifft family owned the land and used it as a dairy farm. After 1883, the area was transformed into part of the City Ship Canal, and by 1900 had become a trans-shipment center used mostly for coal and iron ore. The area contained twelve shipping lanes with room to dock 83 lake freighters and other vessels. Shipping use of the area ended with the 1912 Panama Canal Act. At some point prior to 1938, a lake freighter burned and was abandoned at one of the docks. During the 1950s and 1960s, the shipping canals were partially filled in with materials including slag, a byproduct of smelting iron ore at local plants such as Bethlehem Steel. It was unknown whether the remains of the burned freighter had been removed beforehand some of the canals were filled in.

This project builds on a 2022 study where ground penetrating radar data were collected in an attempt to locate the potentially buried lake freighter. Those results indicated that the freighter was buried at the site and not removed. In this study, we collected additional data to increase our confidence in those initial results. Data were collected using a GSSI SIR-3000 with a 400 MHz antenna and attached survey wheel. Most of the data were collected over a 6.5 by 14 meter grid where parallel transects were spaced 0.5 meter apart, where those data could be processed into a 3D data block. Individual transects were also collected in other areas as time allowed. Analysis of the data confirm the interpretation that the freighter was buried, and the 3D data block reveals more of the internal features of the buried structure. Today, Tifft Nature Preserve is a popular natural and hiking destination and was designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in 1998. This study contributes to the varied history of the site.