American three masted clippership L. Schepp in Chinese waters

The L. Schepp was built by Titcombe & Thompson at Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1878. Registered at 1,776 tons and 224 feet long with a 42 foot beam, she was originally owned by a syndicate but soon sold to Chapman's of New York. Named after L. Schepp, the New York chocolate manufacturer known as 'The Coconut King,' she sailed to San Francisco, via Cape Horn, until 1893 after which she started trading from east coast ports to the Orient. On 17th February 1902, she ran ashore on Long Island in a blizzard and was so damaged that she was converted into a coal barge.