The Shenandoah

The Shenandoah was built by Arthur Sewall & Co., at Bath, Maine and was launched in November 1890 in the presence of some 8000 people. She was the largest sailing ship (in terms of cargo capacity) built in the United States up to that time. Her principal dimensions were: LOA: 299'-7", Beam: 49'-1" and a gross tonnage of 3,258. For most of her career she was employed in the Cape Horn trade to San Francisco from New York and Liverpool carrying general cargo, wheat and later coal. In July of 1907 she was laid up in San Francisco until February 1910 when she made her final voyage around the cape with a cargo of asphalt, lumber and scrap iron from the earthquake and fire of April 1906 in San Francisco. The Shenandoah had a long and successful career which ended off the beaches of Fire Island when she was rammed by the steamship Powattan and sank. Her wreck was blown up by divers of the US Coast Guard in March of 1916.