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Ada K. Damon

The wreck of the schooner Ada K. Damon on Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA as it appeared on July 3rd, 2017.
History
United States
NameAda K. Damon
OwnerA.K. Brewster
BuilderH.A. Burnham
Launched1875
HomeportProvincetown, Massachusetts
FateWrecked December 26, 1909
General characteristics
TypeSchooner
Tonnage94.22
Length84 ft (26 m)
Beam23.3 ft (7.1 m)
Depth8.2 ft (2.5 m)

Ada K. Damon was a Grand Banks schooner that was used for fishing and later for sand transportation.[1][2][3] She was wrecked on 26 December 1909 during a large snowstorm[4] when her anchor chain parted, setting her adrift.[5] Today, the remains of the wreck are a local landmark, a tourist attraction, and an archeological site.

The ship

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Ada K. Damon was built in 1875 at H. A. Burnham Boat Building in Essex, Massachusetts.[6] She was 84 ft (26 m) long and had a beam of 23.3 ft (7.1 m) and a depth of 8.2 ft (2.5 m) deep.[7][8]

1893 storm

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

Wreck

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On 26 December 1909, Ada K. Damon′s anchor chain broke, setting her adrift, and she ran aground on Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts.[12][13] Her five crew members survived.[14] The United States Life-Saving Service offered to assist in salvaging the ship, but her master, Captain A.K. Brewster, declined, as he wished to sell the ship for scrap.[15] However, on 6 January 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 2015, the wreck surfaced enough to permit a non-excavation-based archeological survey to document the wreck and confirm its identity as part of a teaching program for Salem State University.[19][20]

In early 2020 the shifting sands once again exposed the ship down to its keel. In September 2020, Hurricane Teddy hammered the exposed wreck, tearing apart the hull and scattering debris across the beach.[21] In the aftermath of the storm, continued erosion of the beach scattered debris around Ipswich Bay and beyond, leaving little remaining. As of May 2021, only a few beams as well the cast iron galley stove remain on Crane Beach.[22]


References

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  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. Ada K. Damon.
  4. ^ Monthly Weather Review, Volumes 909-912. War Department, Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1909. p. 999.
  5. ^ a b 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). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2014. 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. ^ Service, Life-Saving (1893). Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-saving Service. p. 139.
  10. ^ Sheedy, R. "Down To Sea, 1893". Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Fishing Boats In Peril" (PDF). 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. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  17. ^ Mastone, Victor. "ACUA Year-End Report" (PDF). acuaonline.org. Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  18. ^ Sargent, William (2005). The House on Ipswich Marsh: Exploring the Natural History of New England. UPNE. pp. 70–71. ISBN 9781584654650.
  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.
  21. ^ "Storm Surge Washes Away 110-year-old Shipwreck on Crane Beach". The Trustees of Reservations. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Board Of Underwater Archaeological Resources Final Minutes Of Public Meeting – 27 May 2021". Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
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42°41′28″N 70°46′59″W / 42.691230°N 70.783005°W / 42.691230; -70.783005