The ''Gay Head'' was a

sidewheel steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

operating as a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

serving the islands of

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

and

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

during the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. It was named after the town of Gay Head, Massachusetts, later renamed Aquinnah.

Construction

The ''Gay Head'' was built in 1891 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

for the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co. It was 701 tons, 203 feet long, 34 foot beam, a draft of 5½ feet, with encased paddlewheels. The engine was built by Pusey & Jones Co. in Philadelphia.Turner, Harry B. ''The Story of the Island Steamers'' (The Inquirer and Mirror Press, 1910) It was the largest sidewheeler ever operated by the company.Vineyard Gazette Online
According to a 1961 ''Vineyard Gazette'' article: :"Her social hall, ladies' saloon and toilet rooms were "all fitted in the Neapolitan style, with gold trimmings." The woodwork was of cherry, and the side seats in the cabins were covered with maroon plush upholstering. The social hall deck was laid with black walnut and maple - its size, too, was imposing, for its length was 50 feet. Above the main deck were the forward promenade and upper saloon, reached fore and aft by "richly carved staircases." Five state rooms on each side were furnished with willow furniture. The Gay Head could boast a hurricane deck extending from the stern to the pilot house; this was something earlier steamers had lacked."

Career

''Gay Head'' was commanded initially in 1891 by Capt. A. P. Bartow and Capt. G. L. Daggett, and later by Capt. Charles H. Fishback of Nantucket, Capt. Charles H. Coulter (resigned 1909), and Capt. J. W. Merriman. In July 1898, the ''Gay Head'' collided with the steamer ''

'' while crossing Vineyard Sound in a dense fog. The ''Nantucket''s bow was badly damaged in the accident. The ''Gay Head'' operated until 1924, after 33 years of operation.''The Dukes County Intelligencer''. Vol. 24, No. 4. May 1983

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay Head (Steamboat) Paddle steamers Ferries of Massachusetts Steamboats of Nantucket Sound Steamships of the United States Martha's Vineyard Ships built in Philadelphia Transportation in Dukes County, Massachusetts Transportation in Nantucket, Massachusetts 1891 ships