''Priscilla Dailey'', previously known as the ''Elizabeth E. Newell'', is a wooden canal boat constructed in 1929 in

Whitehall, New York Whitehall is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 4,035 at the 2000 census. The Town of Whitehall contains a village also named Whitehall. Hi ...

. The barge was used to transport

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...

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, and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

harbors. It sank in 1974 along with the '' Elmer S. Dailey'' and the '' Berkshire No. 7'' in the harbor of

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

on the west side of the

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. The sunken boat has deteriorated to the point that a salvage operation could result in it breaking apart. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on December 21, 1978.

Description

The barge measures long with a beam. The depth of the hold is listed at and it had a listed capacity of 311 tons. Clouette describes the ''Priscilla Dailey'' as having a "nearly rectangular hull in profile, section and plan, with squared-off stern and bluntly rounded bow. Low bulwarks with scuppers rise slightly to a peak where they join the prominently projecting stem. There are several raised strakes in the bow. The superstructure consists mainly of a single low coaming which extends nearly the length of the vessel". Toward the stern is a small cabin that has the same width and height of the coaming. In 1978, the National Register of Historic Places nomination noted that the convex hatch covers likely floated away and that the squarish hood over the companionway had washed away.

History

The wooden canal boat ''Priscilla Dailey'' was originally known as ''Elizabeth E. Newell'' until it was purchased by Stewart J. Dailey in 1941. It was constructed in 1929 in Whitehall, New York, by William J. Ryan for Anthony O'Boyle. The ship was built 24 years after the

Champlain Canal The Champlain Canal is a canal in New York that connects the Hudson River to the south end of Lake Champlain. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal for use by commercial vessels, fully opening in 1823. Today, it is mostly used by ...

's enlargement, but more closely resembles the specifications of the 19th-century canal boats. It was used to transport materials in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut harbors between 1941 and 1972, and afterward was moored in the harbor of

together with the ''Elmer S. Dailey'' and ''Berkshire No. 7''. In the spring of 1974, one of the barges began to take on water, dragging down the other two. At

neap tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

, one-third of the hull of the ''Priscilla Dailey'' is visible above water. ''Priscilla Dailey'' is listed in the U.S. Registry as #170368.

Importance

The ''Priscilla Dailey'' is historically significant because it is one of the few surviving wooden canal boats and is "a rare and representative artifact of canal transportation". Its design is characteristic of its 19th-century predecessors despite being a 20th-century vessel. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 21, 1978. Its nomination and listing is unusual because it was not yet 50 years old at the time of its nomination, and it sunk in 1974. It and the other two barges that sank with it are the only shipwrecks in Connecticut listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1998, the historic status of the barges was a concern for the Port Authority of Bridgeport Harbor, as the sunken ships interfered with a billion-dollar redevelopment project. Over the years, the barges had deteriorated so that an operation to salvage them would likely result in them breaking apart. No action had been taken by 2003, but a report noted that prior to any activity of the ''Priscilla Dailey'', the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

and/or the City of Bridgeport would document the barge with photos and a technical description. Specifics regarding the documentation based on the activity would be archived at the State Historic Preservation Office and the

Mystic Seaport Museum Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

Notes

''The New York Times'' article notes that the barges sank in 1974, but inaccurately says that the ships were placed on the National Register of Historic Places "shortly before they went down". The ''Berkshire No.7''s nomination form was produced in May 1978 and it was added on December 21, 1978. Another document relating to the Intermodal Transportation Center erroneously states the ''Priscilla Dailey'' National Register of Historic Places listing date and that it sunk because of

Hurricane Gloria Hurricane Gloria was a powerful hurricane that caused significant damage along the east coast of the United States and in Atlantic Canada during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first significant tropical cyclone to strike the n ...

in 1985.

References

External links