 Martha's Vineyard | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Martha's Vineyard |
| Builder | Lawrence & Foulks (Williamsburg, NY) |
| Completed | 1871 |
| Renamed | Keyport (1913) |
| Fate | Sunk in collision in New York Harbor, 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sidewheel passenger steamboat |
| Tonnage | 515 |
| Length | 185 ft (56 m) |
| Beam | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Vertical beam |
Martha's Vineyard was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the second half of the nineteenth century.
Martha's Vineyard, a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamboat, was built by Lawrence & Foulks in Williamsburg, New York, in 1871. It was a 515-ton vessel, [1] 185 feet long, with a 29' beam. [2]
A 1961 Vineyard Gazette article noted the beauty of the vessel: "The Martha's Vineyard...had decorated paddleboxes that made large, rhythmic and beautiful half-circles on the sides." [2] as well as how exposed it was: " The Martha's Vineyard at first had no hurricane deck open to passengers, and eventually only a partial one." [2] The same article also adds a quotation from 1871:
From 1871 until 1886, the Martha's Vineyard and the Monohansett were the only two ferries serving Martha's Vineyard. [1]
In March 1886 the Martha's Vineyard became one of the initial four steamers operating for the newly organized New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co. [3] (The other three were River Queen, Island Home and the Monohansett.)
In 1928, the steam-powered ferry Islander, which had begun service in 1923, was renamed Martha's Vineyard. It operated until at least the 1940s. [4]
In 1993, a new diesel-powered ferry named MV Martha's Vineyard started its service to Martha's Vineyard and Woods Hole. It is the third vessel to be named after Martha's Vineyard. [5]
