Ada K. Damon

The shipwrecked Ada K. Damon as it appeared in 2005.
History
United States
Name: Ada K. Damon
Owner: A.K. Brewster
Builder: H.A. Burnham
Launched: 1875
Out of service: December 26, 1909
Homeport: Provincetown, Massachusetts
Fate: Wrecked in 1909 Storm
General characteristics
Type: Schooner
Tonnage: 94.22
Length: 84 ft (26 m)
Beam: 23.3 ft (7.1 m)
Depth: 8.2 ft (2.5 m)

The Ada K. Damon was a Grand Banks schooner that was used for fishing and later for sand transportation.[1][2][3] It was wrecked on December 26, 1909 during a large snow storm[4] when it's anchor chain parted, sending it adrift.[5]

The ship

The Ada K. Damon was built in 1875 at H.A. Burnham Boat Building in Essex, Massachusetts.[6] It was 84 ft (26 m) long, 23.3 ft (7.1 m) wide and 8.2 ft (2.5 m) deep.[7][8]

1893 Storm

On March 20, 1893, a snow storm caused a dory of fishermen to get separated from the Ada K. Damon off Highland Light. All 8 fishermen died and washed ashore over the next month.[9][10][11]

The wreck

On December 26, 1909, the Ada K. Damon broke free of its anchor and was grounded on Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts.[12][13] The five crew members survived.[14] The US Life-Saving Service offered to assist in salvaging the craft, but the master, Captain A.K. Brewster, declined, as he wished to sell the ship to wreckers.[15] However, on January 6, 1910, he accepted their help in stripping the ship, as he could find no buyer.[5] This included removing the two masts, the bowsprit, and the rigging.

The Ship quickly deteriorated, and within a few years the remains were buried in the sand. The wreck partially resurfaced periodically over the next century. The remains resurfaced in 2004,[16][17][18] when the beach shifted. They remained half buried in the intertidal zone of the beach until 2009, when they were once again buried by the shifting sand dunes. The remains partially resurfaced in early 2014, with just the tip of the stem breaking the surface of the sand. In July of 2015, the wreck surfaced enough to permit a non-excavation based archeological survey to document the wreck and confirm it's identity as part of a teaching program for Salem State University.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ Record of American and Foreign Shipping. American Bureau of Shipping. 1906. p. 294.
  2. ↑ Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Volume 14, Part 1882. 1882. p. 4.
  3. ↑ Goode, George (1887). The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 68, 70.
  4. ↑ Monthly Weather Review, Volumes 909-912. War Department, Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1909. p. 999.
  5. 1 2 Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-saving Service. Government Printing Office. 1911. p. 97.
  6. ↑ "List of Vessels District of Gloucester 1878" (PDF). Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  7. ↑ Merchant vessels of the United States. Dept. of Transportation, Coast Guard. 1893. p. 56.
  8. ↑ "FROM RECORDS 1906" (PDF). provincetownhistoryproject.com. TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-saving Service. 1893. p. 139.
  10. ↑ Sheedy, R. "Down To Sea, 1893". Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Fishing Boats In Peril". New York Times. 3 September 1893. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Congressional Serial Set. United States Government Printing Office. 1910. p. 404.
  13. ↑ "Christmas on The Atlantic". Seamen's Journal: A Journal of Seamen, by Seamen, for Seamen 23 (16): 3. 5 January 1910. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "STORM VICTIMS ADDED TO LIST ANOTHER WRECK REPORTED OFF BOSTON SHOALS". Los Angeles Herald. 29 December 1909. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  15. ↑ Harris, Gordon. "Wreck of the Ada K. Damon". historicipswich.org. Historic Ipswich. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Mastone, Victor. "BOARD OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES MINUTES OF PUBLIC MEETING – SEPTEMBER 30, 2004" (PDF). mass.gov. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Mastone, Victor. "ACUA Year-End Report" (PDF). acuaonline.org. Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  18. ↑ Sargent, William (2005). The House on Ipswich Marsh: Exploring the Natural History of New England. UPNE. pp. 70–71.
  19. ↑ Mac Alpine, Dan (22 July 2015). "Ipswich wreck an information treasure trove". Ipswich Chronicle. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  20. ↑ Ostuni, Amanda (16 July 2015). "Field School wraps up Ipswich shipwreck excavation". The Salem News. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

External links

Coordinates: 42°41′28″N 70°46′59″W / 42.691230°N 70.783005°W / 42.691230; -70.783005

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