Paul Palmer (schooner)

The Paul Palmer was a five-masted schooner built in 1902 by George F. Welt in Waldoboro, Maine.[2]

Paul Palmer at coal docks
History
Namesake:	Paul Palmer
Owner:	William H. Palmer (1902-1911) J. S. Winslow & Co. (1911-1913)
Builder:	George L. Welt, Waldoboro, ME
Launched:	1902
Fate:	burned to waterline and sank on June 15, 1913, no loss of men
General characteristics
Tonnage:	2,193
Length:	276 ft (84 m)
Beam:	44 ft (13 m)
Draft:	24 ft (7.3 m)
Sail plan:	5 fore-and-aft course sails, 5 topsails, 4 jibs, 5 stay sails
PAUL PALMER (Shipwreck and Remains)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Remains of the Paul Palmer's steam winch
Nearest city	Provincetown, Massachusetts
Built	1902
Architect	Welt, George L.; Palmer, William F.
NRHP reference No.	07000288 [1]
Added to NRHP	April 12, 2007

It was part of William F. Palmer's fleet of white-hulled vessels active in the New England coal trade. The fleet was sold to J. S. Winslow and Company in 1911.[3]

After departing Rockport, Maine on Friday, June 13, 1913 under the command of Capt. Howard B. Allen and destined for Newport News, VA where she would pick up a load of coal [4] for the return voyage, Paul Palmer caught fire on 15 June 1913 for unknown reasons. Attempts to douse the flames with the vessel's own pumps were not successful, and the crew abandoned ship. The Paul Palmer burned down to the waterline and then sank. There were 11 passengers and crew on board, including the captain's wife and a female guest. The passengers of the Palmer took to lifeboats and were picked up later on by the fishing schooner Rose Dorothea, bringing them to Provincetown, Massachusetts. The cutter Androscoggin was dispatched from Portland, Maine to destroy the remnants of the wreck so as to avoid a hazard to other ships.

In 2000, researchers at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary discovered the wreck and documented it, locating artifacts that proved the ship's identity in 2002.[5] The wreck was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. "Paul Palmer". Maritime Heritage: Shipwrecks. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
3. "Maritime Heritage Program: Expeditions". National Marine Sanctuaries. NOAA. 2005. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
4. Marx, Deborah (April 26, 2011). "Fueling the Northeast: Schooners of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary". The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
5. "Shipwreck Makes National Register of Historic Places". Seadiscovery.com. 2007-06-19. Retrieved September 13, 2011.

Image

• Launching of the Paul Palmer