Governor Stone (schooner)

Governor Stone is a historic schooner, built in 1877, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States. She is the only surviving two-masted coasting cargo schooner built on the Gulf Coast of the United States, and is only one of five such surviving US-built ships. On 4 December 1991, she was added to the US National Register of Historic Places.[5] One year later, the schooner was designated a US National Historic Landmark. She is presently berthed at Saint Andrews Marina in Panama City, Florida, where she is maintained by a nonprofit group. Sailing tours are regularly scheduled.

Governor Stone
History
United States
NameGovernor Stone
Launched1877 in Pascagoula, Mississippi
FateCapsized during Hurricane Michael, 10 October 2018
StatusCurrently undergoing restoration by Stone Loft Boat Shop
General characteristics
Tonnage14.6 GRT 12 NRT
Length
  • 39.0 ft (11.9 m) (on deck)
  • 66 ft (20 m) (LOA)
Beam12.6 ft (3.8 m)
Draft3.9 ft (1.2 m)
Depth of hold3.3 ft (1.0 m)
Sail planSchooner
Governor Stone (schooner)
Governor Stone (schooner) is located in Florida
Governor Stone (schooner)
Governor Stone (schooner) is located in the United States
Governor Stone (schooner)
LocationPanama City, Florida, US
Coordinates30°10′03.1″N 85°42′09.4″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1877[1][2]
NRHP reference No.91002063
Significant dates
Added to NRHP4 December 1991[3]
Designated NHL4 December 1992[4]

Description

Governor Stone has a wooden hull, 39 feet (12 m) long, with a beam of 12.6 feet (3.8 m) and a hold depth of 3.3 feet (1.0 m). She has a pine keel, a frame of cypress, and decking and other finished surfaces of pine and juniper. Her two masts are pine, one 38.8 feet (11.8 m) in length and the other 39.8 feet (12.1 m), which is fitted with a topmast giving it a total height of 52 feet (16 m). The basic design of the vessel is described as typical of late-19th-century Gulf schooners. She has a poop deck with a small cabin, and the rest of her deck is divided into hatches providing access to the hold area.[6]

History

Governor Stone was built in Pascagoula in 1877 for Charles Greiner, a merchant, and was named for John Marshall Stone, who was Governor of Mississippi at the time. Greiner owned a chandlery in Pascagoula, and used her to bring supplies and materials to deep-water ships outside the harbor. Subsequent owners used her as a buyboat, purchasing oyster catch from working fishermen and bringing it to shore. In 1906 she was capsized during a hurricane and washed inland, but was successfully refloated. She sank during a storm at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1939, but was again recovered. Renamed Queen of the Fleet, she entered into the tourist trade, carrying visitors on excursions at DeLisle, Mississippi. During World War II she was converted for use as a training vessel by the Merchant Marine Academy. After going through a succession of owners (and names) in the post-war years, she was given a careful restoration in the 1960s and 1970s.[6]

She became part of Eden Gardens State Park in 2003. However, the water in Tucker Bayou next to the park was too shallow for the boat to dock there. She was in Sandestin for a short time, then moved to Bay County.[7] In 2007, the schooner was towed to a marina in Fort Walton Beach.[8] In 2014, it was moved to its current home port at the St. Andrews Marina in the historic area of St. Andrews, Panama City, Florida.[9]

In October 2018, Governor Stone capsized at her dock during Hurricane Michael. The Friends of the Governor Stone organization has raised funds to salvage and repair her. She was later raised and stored ashore. Rebuilding was to start in May/June 2022 at Stone Loft Boat Inc., St Andrews, Florida, with an ending date projected for 2024.[10][11][12]

See also

Citations
  1. "Governor Stone". Florida Heritage Tourism Interactive Catalog. Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  2. Delgado, James P. (1990). "Governor Stone National Historic Landmark Study". Maritime Landmarks Large Vessels. National Park Service. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  3. "National Register of Historical Places - Florida (FL), Walton County". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  4. "Governor Stone (Schooner)". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  5. Sikes, Kathryn (2004). "Governor Stone: Analysis of an 1877 Two-masted Schooner from the Gulf of Mexico". International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 33 (2): 297–314. doi:10.1111/j.1095-9270.2004.00025.x.
  6. "NHL nomination for Governor Stone". National Park Service. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  7. Civil, Heather (July 2, 2007). "Abandoning Ship?: Walton County Struggling for Funds to Keep the Governor Stone Afloat". Northwest Florida Daily News. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  8. Victora, Wendy (August 24, 2007). "To Save a Sinking Ship: The Friends of Governor Stone Group Wants the Schooner to Be a Traveling Exhibit". Northwest Florida Daily News. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  9. "Governor stone returns to Panama City". Panama City News Herald. March 20, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  10. "National Historic Landmark Governor Stone will be saved after Hurricane Michael damage". Panama City News Herald. March 5, 2019.
  11. "145-year-old schooner Governor Stone to be rebuilt with $1.5 million FEMA grant. How to help". yahoo.com. March 5, 2019.
  12. "Governor Stone Capsized". Facebook. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.

References
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