''Bernice J.'' is a

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

skipjack, built in 1904 in Young's Creek, Virginia, by W. Thomas Young of Parksley, who also built '' Claude W. Somers''. She is a two-sail

bateau A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. ...

, or "V"-bottomed deadrise type of centerboard sloop, commonly referred to as a skipjack. She worked dredging oysters through the 1970s. She is located at Chestertown,

Kent County, Maryland Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,198, making it the least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Chestertown. The county was named for the county of Kent in ...

. She was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1985.

References

Transportation in Kent County, Maryland Skipjacks Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland 1904 ships National Register of Historic Places in Kent County, Maryland Chestertown, Maryland {{KentCountyMD-NRHP-stub