The ''Paul Palmer'' was a five-masted schooner built in 1902 by George F. Welt in

Waldoboro, Maine Waldoboro is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 5,154 at the 2020 census. Waldoboro was incorporated in 1773 and developed a reputation as a ship building and port facility from the banks of the Medomak R ...

. It was part of William F. Palmer's fleet of white-hulled vessels active in the New England coal trade. The fleet was sold to J. S. Winslow and Company in 1911. After departing

Rockport, Maine Rockport is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It is thirty-five miles southeast of Augusta. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony. History Rockport, or "the River", wa ...

on Friday, June 13, 1913 under the command of Capt. Howard B. Allen and destined for

Newport News, VA Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

where she would pick up a load of coal for the return voyage, ''Paul Palmer'' caught fire on 15 June 1913 for unknown reasons. Attempts to douse the flames with the vessel's own pumps were not successful, and the crew abandoned ship. The ''Paul Palmer'' burned down to the waterline and then sank. There were 11 passengers and crew on board, including the captain's wife and a female guest. The passengers of the Palmer took to lifeboats and were picked up later on by the fishing schooner ''Rose Dorothea'', bringing them to

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...

. The cutter ''Androscoggin'' was dispatched from

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

to destroy the remnants of the wreck so as to avoid a hazard to other ships. In 2000, researchers at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary discovered the wreck and documented it, locating artifacts that proved the ship's identity in 2002. The wreck 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 ...

in 2007.

References

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Launching of the ''Paul Palmer''
{{1913 shipwrecks Schooners of the United States Five-masted ships Colliers Ships built in Maine Maritime incidents in 1913 1902 ships National Register of Historic Places in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Ship fires