Join us on Wednesday, April 8th at 7pm! Ben Ioset, Maritime Archaeologist, will present a program on April 8th at Gates Hall that explores Lake Ontario, its marine heritage, and historic shipwrecks.

In May 2025, NOAA and its partners at the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute surveyed deep water shipwrecks within the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary (LONMS). The expedition documented numerous pristinely preserved shipwrecks dating from 1816 to 1927. In his presentation, Ioset will discuss the expedition, its objectives, and several of the shipwrecks that were explored, and he looks forward to sharing discoveries made during the trip expedition with attendees at the April 8th program in Pultneyville.

With the St. Peter Shipwreck just two miles east of Pultneyville, W-PHS is excited to reside within the LONMS and to also feature an exhibit of its artifacts recovered by Deep Star Enterprises in its History & Heritage Warehouse.  Nanette Peters Hance, President of W-PHS shares that the historical society is excited about the opportunities the sanctuary offers for research, community engagement, education and outreach activities, as well as the maritime heritage related tourism it will bring to the region.

Ben Ioset, archaeologist with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation in support of NOAA’s LONMS, received his PH.D. in Anthropology with a specialization in nautical archaeology from Texas A&M University in 2021. His research focuses on the maritime history and heritage of the Great Lakes, and in particular, Lake Ontario, historic wooden shipbuilding, and historic preservation.

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