''Alma'' is an 1891-built

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, which is now preserved as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

at the

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park used to be r ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

History

''Alma'' is a flat-bottomed scow schooner built in 1891 by Fred Siemer at his boatyard near Shipwright's Cottage at Hunters Point in

. Like the many other local scow schooners of that time, she was designed to haul goods on and around

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

, but now hauls people. Able to navigate the shallow creeks and sloughs of the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta, the scows' strong, sturdy hulls could rest safely and securely on the bottom and provided a flat, stable platform for loading and unloading. While principally designed as sailing vessels, scow schooners could also be hauled from the bank or poled in the shallows of the delta. Until 1918, ''Alma'' hauled a variety of cargo under sail, including hay and lumber. Thereafter she was demasted and used as a salt-carrying barge. In 1926 a gasoline engine was installed, and ''Alma'' became an dredging oyster schooner, remaining in this trade until 1957. While built and operated on San Francisco Bay, ''Alma'' is in many ways indistinguishable from scows that were launched and sailed on

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 the parts: the ...

, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, inland rivers, and other coastal waters of the United States. No scow schooners except ''Alma'' are known to survive afloat in the United States. In 1959, ''Alma'' was purchased by the

State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and restoration commenced in 1964. She 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 10 October 1975. In 1988, she was designated a

.
She is now one of the exhibits of the

and is to be found moored at the park's Hyde Street Pier.

Sources

External links

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park website - Alma webpage
* {{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Schooners of the United States Museum ships in San Francisco Individual sailing vessels Historic American Engineering Record in San Francisco National Historic Landmarks in the San Francisco Bay Area National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in California Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco 1891 ships Oyster schooners Ships built in San Francisco

History

See also

Sources

External links