Shipwreck possibly from 1850s found in Ocean County

NORMANDY BEACH, N.J. (WPVI) -- A construction crew discovered what's believed to be a shipwreck from the 1850s off the coast of Normandy Beach, Ocean County.

It's estimated that there are over 7,000 shipwrecks off the coast of New Jersey and this may be one of them.

It was discovered recently in Normandy Beach by crews installing a 3.5 mile steel wall to protect the shore from another devastating storm.

When they dug down more than 20 feet to see what was breaking their machinery, they found the wooden remains of a sunken ship, perhaps the Aysrshire.

"If it happens to be the Aysrshire, which wrecked in 1850, it could be quite a historically significant wreck," said Dan Lieb, NJ Shipwreck Museum.

That's because the Aysrshire was the first time Francis life cars were ever used to rescue passengers.

The life cars were metal capsules sent back and forth on a line established between ship and shore. Over four days, 201 people were rescued from the wrecked ship.

"We have one of the highest concentrations of shipwrecks in the world here," said Lieb.

This newly-discovered wreck is now roped off and has become something of a tourist attraction.

"You are out on the beach and you're just looking over the ocean and you think, 'What could be down here underneath all of this?' It's been here for centuries," said Mike Lyon.

Many of the ships that sank off New Jersey were never seen or heard from again so for some, the discovery of this 19th century wreck is like finding a treasure

"It's a treasure of knowledge, it's a treasure of history," said Lieb.

If a state archaeologist determines these timbers are those of an old sailing ship, arrangements will have to be made to remove and care for the pieces.