Ada K. Damon Explained

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

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

1893 storm

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

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]


External links

42.6912°N -70.783°W

Notes and References

  1. Book: Record of American and Foreign Shipping. 1906. American Bureau of Shipping. 294.
  2. Book: Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Volume 14, Part 1882. 1882. 4.
  3. Book: Goode, George. The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States. 1887. Govt. Print. Off.. 68, 70. Ada K. Damon..
  4. Book: Monthly Weather Review, Volumes 909-912. 1909. War Department, Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 999.
  5. Book: Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-saving Service. 1911. Government Printing Office. 97.
  6. Web site: List of Vessels District of Gloucester 1878 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140108095702/http://www.noblenet.org/images/willis/1878_vessels_full.pdf . dead . 8 January 2014 . 8 January 2014 .
  7. Book: Merchant vessels of the United States. 1893. Dept. of Transportation, Coast Guard. 56.
  8. Web site: FROM RECORDS 1906 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140108230205/http://www.provincetownhistoryproject.com/PDF/phpp_1900.pdf . dead . 8 January 2014 . provincetownhistoryproject.com . TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN . 9 January 2014 .
  9. Book: Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-saving Service. 1893. 139. Service. Life-Saving.
  10. Web site: Sheedy. R.. Down To Sea, 1893. 8 January 2014.
  11. News: Fishing Boats In Peril. 8 January 2014. New York Times. 3 September 1893.
  12. Book: Congressional Serial Set. 1910. United States Government Printing Office. 404.
  13. Christmas on The Atlantic. Seamen's Journal: A Journal of Seamen, by Seamen, for Seamen. 5 January 1910. 23. 16. 3. 8 January 2014.
  14. News: Storm Victims Added To List Another Wreck Reported Off Boston Shoals. 9 January 2014. Los Angeles Herald. 29 December 1909.
  15. Web site: Harris . Gordon . Wreck of the Ada K. Damon . https://web.archive.org/web/20131231061129/http://www.historicipswich.org/wreck-of-the-ada-k-damon/ . dead . 31 December 2013 . historicipswich.org . Historic Ipswich . 9 January 2014 .
  16. Web site: Mastone. Victor. Board Of Underwater Archaeological Resources Minutes Of Public Meeting – September 30, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20170222154442/https://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/czm/buar/minutes/uabseptember04.pdf . 2017-02-22 . mass.gov. Commonwealth Of Massachusetts. 8 January 2014.
  17. Web site: Mastone . Victor . ACUA Year-End Report . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094205/http://acuaonline.org/assets/2010/10/20/d49e15bff19f99c80f383fa693b30449.pdf . dead . 2 April 2015 . acuaonline.org . Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources . 8 January 2014 .
  18. Book: Sargent, William. The House on Ipswich Marsh: Exploring the Natural History of New England. 2005. UPNE. 70–71. 9781584654650.
  19. News: Mac Alpine. Dan. Ipswich wreck an information treasure trove. 17 April 2016. Ipswich Chronicle. 22 July 2015.
  20. News: Ostuni. Amanda. Field School wraps up Ipswich shipwreck excavation. 17 April 2016. The Salem News. 16 July 2015.
  21. News: Storm Surge Washes Away 110-year-old Shipwreck on Crane Beach . 5 July 2022 . The Trustees of Reservations . 25 September 2020.
  22. Web site: Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Board Of Underwater Archaeological Resources Final Minutes Of Public Meeting – 27 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705201223/https://www.mass.gov/doc/buar-may-27-2021-meeting-minutes/download . 2022-07-05 . 5 July 2022.

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