BUCKEYE LAKE, Ohio -The dam construction work at Buckeye Lake has helped uncover a big piece of the region's history. Crews working along the north bank over the weekend discovered pieces of what is thought to be a canal boat that sank in 1850. Most of the wreckage pieces were removed from the lake Monday.

BUCKEYE LAKE, Ohio � While officials have said that a new dam at Buckeye Lake will usher in the region�s next successful chapter, the construction marked perhaps the last hope of uncovering a big piece of the lake�s history.

Buckeye Lake Historical Society Director J-me Braig said had hoped construction crews raking the bottom of the lake would find a canal boat that sank more than 150 years ago.

�By golly, we found it,� she said on Wednesday, two days after crews removed pieces of what�s thought to be the boat.

Carrying a full load of coal, the 50-foot Black Diamond had traveled from Newark to Thornport in Perry County when it got held up on a stump, Braig said.

>>> Video:Buckeye Lake Historical Society Director J-me Braig discusses the boat

The four crew members on board were able to make it off before the boat split in two and sank.

Workers hit the first few pieces of the wreckage on Saturday and contacted Braig. "Anybody that knows the story would know that it was there," she said.

When she heard crews had come across something near Black Diamond Point, an area on the north bank named for where the boat sank, she had a good feeling. "I knew it was the boat," she said.

Some pieces of the wreckage now sit in a pile near Buckeye Lake State Park's north shore area, along with pieces of coal and old bottles. A large mound of muck sits next to it, covered in straw to keep it damp so it can be sifted through and analyzed.

Reinforcement work done on the dam in the 1960s likely covered up some parts of the wreckage, Braig said. If crews didn�t find the Black Diamond during the current dam reconstruction, she doubts that anything would have ever been found. �This was the last chance," she said.

The Ohio History Connection has helped guide crews on how to handle the material, said project spokesman Ian Nickey.

The agency is working closely with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and must still figure out the next steps and recommendations for preserving the wreckage, said Ohio History Connection spokeswoman Emmy Beach in an email.

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