The Granite State, originally the USS New Hampshire, served for more than 60 years before its demise on the Hudson River Pier on May 23, 1921. The 2,633-ton ship caught fire while tied up on the 96th St. pier, creating a smoke plume that could be seen for miles. Remains of the burnt out ship were sold at auction at the end of that summer for $5,000. It was estimated that $70,000 of salvageable material could be removed from the wreckage.
There was once a couple of wooden-hulled tall ships stuck in the muck of the Sheepscot River in Wiscasset, Maine. They had been built in the 1910's, the very end of the Tall Ship era. We used to drive by them on Route 1 in the 60's, when I was a wee tyke, and they looked enormous and hugely fascinating to a kid who was reading Treasure Island at the time. They're long gone now, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteLooked 'em up: The Hesper and the Luther Little
https://andrikyrychok.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/the-sinking-schooners-of-wiscasett/
The ship in the photo is the perfect metaphor for New Hampshire today.
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