San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Agency : U.S.)

The C.A. Thayer is a wooden-hulled, three-masted schooner, designed for carrying lumber. She was built in 1895 in Northern California at Hans D. Bendixsen's shipyard in Fairhaven, CA. The original hull was made of dense, old-growth Douglas fir carefully chosen for shipbuilding. She sailed with a small crew consisting of four seamen, two mates, a cook, and the captain.

From the description of C.A. Thayer (built 1895; schooner, 3m) records [manuscript], Feb.-Oct. 2004. (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Library). WorldCat record id: 774732766

The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (SFMNHP) is a relatively small park & provides services for more than 3 million visitors annually and acts as a custodian for historic vessels (three of which are designated as Historic Landmarks), small watercraft, museum artifacts, a variety of historic documents, and a maritime library. It is responsible for maintaining 35 acres of urban parkland which include the Aquatic Park Bathhouse (a National Historic Landmark which serves as a museum exhibit facility), the Hyde Street Pier (where the historic vessels are moored), and the Haslett Warehouse. The park also operates a library and archives in a Historic Landmark building at nearby Fort Mason. Many of the park's programs and collections existed well before 1988, formed by several predecessor organizations. It began with the opening of the San Francisco Museum of Science and Industry in 1941 through the efforts of Mrs. Alma de Brettville Spreckels. It was comprised mainly of an impressive collection of ship models and artifacts, which were exhibited at [the Casino/Bath House building in] Aquatic Park. Maritime history enthusiast Karl Kortum shifted the focus away from ship models to historic ships on exhibit and available to the public. The San Francisco Maritime Museum Association (SFMMA) was formed in 1950 and provided funding for the purchase of the first of the historic sailing vessels in 1954. Balclutha was restored and opened to visitors at Hyde Street Pier in 1955. The SFMMA convinced the California legislature to lend the enterprise more support and it created the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park in 1956. Funding was provided for the purchase of additional vessels and the creation of Victorian Park. The resources needed for the state park were underestimated and both the state and SFMMA turned to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) for help. In 1977, the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park became the National Maritime Museum, part of the GGNRA. However, visibility (and fund-raising opportunities) were swallowed up in the larger, disperse national park. To gain more direct federal support for the maintenance-intensive historic sailing vessels and preserve visibility, the Maritime Unit became a separate national park in 1988.

From the description of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park records, 1957-1992 (bulk 1988-1992). (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Library). WorldCat record id: 699835730

The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park comprises what was originally the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park and the San Francisco Maritime Museum. These entities were first made part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service) until 1988 when San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was established.

From the description of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park events records [picture], 1991-2007. (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Library). WorldCat record id: 774728331

Historical or Biographical Note

The San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park was established in 1956 and existed under this name until 1977 when it became the National Maritime Museum, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In 1988 the Maritime Unit became a separate national park called the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, the name it is still known by today.

The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (SFMNHP) provides services for millions of visitors annually and acts as a custodian for historic vessels, small watercraft, museum artifacts, archives and a maritime library. The SFMNHP is responsible for maintaining 35 acres of urban parkland which include the Aquatic Park Bathhouse (a National Historic Landmark which serves as a museum exhibit facility), the Hyde Street Pier (where the historic vessels are moored), and the Haslett Warehouse. Five of the historic vessels moored on Hyde Street Pier are designated National Historic Landmarks: the ALMA, BALCLUTHA, EUREKA, HERCULES, and C.A. THAYER. The park also operates a library and archives in a Historic Landmark building at nearby Fort Mason which houses a variety of documents, vessel plans, photographs, motion picture film, books, periodicals and oral histories.

Many of the park's programs and collections existed well before 1988, formed by several predecessor organizations. It began with the opening of the San Francisco Museum of Science and Industry in 1941 through the efforts of Mrs. Alma de Bretteville Spreckels. It was comprised mainly of an impressive collection of ship models and artifacts, which were exhibited at Aquatic Park and various other locations in the Bay Area during World War II.

Karl Kortum, a maritime history enthusiast and able bodied seaman freshly returned from a voyage on the bark KAIULANI (1948), contacted Mrs. Spreckels to discuss his vision of a maritime museum for San Francisco. He believed that historic ships, on exhibit and available to the public, would create a more interesting and economically viable museum than ship models. The San Francisco Maritime Museum Association (SFMMA) was formed in 1950 and provided funding for the purchase of the first of the historic sailing vessels in 1954. BALCLUTHA was restored and opened to visitors at Hyde Street Pier in 1955.

In 1954, the San Francisco Maritime Museum Association undertook the purchase and restoration of the historic sailing vessel BALCLUTHA. A year later, after extensive restoration primarily through volunteer efforts, the BALCLUTHA opened to the public at Pier 43.

In 1956, a bill was passed through the state legislature that called for the purchase of the schooners C.A. THAYER and WAPAMA, and also created the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park. The ferry EUREKA and scow schooner ALMA were acquired (1958-1959) and in 1960, the State Public Works Board approved the expenditure of $75,000 for the creation of an authentic Victorian Park.

The resources needed for the state park were underestimated and both the state and SFMMA turned to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) for help. In 1977, the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park became the National Maritime Museum, part of the GGNRA. However, the Maritime Museum's visibility (and fund-raising opportunities) was swallowed up as part of this large, disperse national park. To gain more direct federal support for the maintenance-intensive historic sailing vessels and preserve visibility, the Maritime Unit became a separate national park in 1988.

[Agency History written by SAFR staff (primarily Lisbit Bailey). Slightly revised by Amy Croft, October 2011.]

• 1988 June: ALMA becomes a National Historic Landmark
• 1988 June 27: National Maritime Museum became a separate national park: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
• 2009 March 4: BALCLUTHA returns to Hyde Street Pier after a trip to the dry dock for maintenance work (including repainting)

Historic Vessel Histories:

ALMA The scow schooner ALMA was built in 1891 in Fred Siemer's shipyard at Hunters Point (in the southeastern section of San Francisco).

Fred Siemer came to San Francisco from Germany in 1865 and started his own shipyard at Hunters Point. He constructed two scow schooners and named the first after his daughter Adelia. After Adelia married, Siemer built the second scow for his son-in-law, James Peterson. That boat was constructed in Peterson's front yard in 1891 and was named for Peterson's daughter, Alma.

ALMA's construction was not unique, but it was unusual; her bottom planking was laid athwartships (side-to-side) instead of fore-and-aft. Called "log built" because the horizontally laid planks were quite thick, scows like ALMA traded a bit of speed and ease-of-repair for economy and strength. ALMA hauled a wide variety of cargoes during her career. She carried hay and lumber under sail, and after Peterson removed her masts in 1918, she freighted sacks of Alviso salt while being towed as a barge. Frank Resech, who purchased the vessel in 1926, installed a gasoline engine in her, and from then until 1957 her cargo was exclusively oyster shell - carried in a 22' by 36' wooden bin installed on deck.

A number of sailing scows ended up as oyster shell dredges. The shell was free for the taking and vast deposits lay in the San Francisco Bay. Both Resech and his wife lived and worked aboard ALMA for a time; Mrs. Resech handled the steering while her husband operated the dredging machinery. During those days, ALMA hauled 110-125 tons of shell per week to Petaluma, California, where it was ground and used for chicken feed.

In 1943, Resech sold the vessel to Peter John Gambetta, who continued to operate her as a dredger until 1957. When Gambetta retired ALMA she was still seaworthy, but no longer profitable. The State of California purchased ALMA as she lay on the Alviso mudflats in 1959, and restoration work began in 1964. She was transferred to the National Park Service in 1978, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988. ALMA is now part of the San Francisco Maritime Historical Park's fleet of historic vessels at Hyde Street Pier. She sails every season and participates in the revived Master Mariners Regatta every May.

[Historical information taken from http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/alma-history.htm, accessed October 27, 2011]

C.A. THAYER The C.A. THAYER is a three-masted schooner built in Fairhaven, California in 1895. The original hull was made of dense, old-growth Douglas fir carefully chosen for shipbuilding. She was named for Clarence A. Thayer, a partner in the San Francisco-based E.K. Wood Lumber Company. This schooner is representative of hundreds that sailed the Pacific Coast in the early 1900s. C.A. THAYER is 219 feet in length and has a cargo capacity of 575,000 board feet (1360 cubic meter). She carried about half of her load below deck, with the remaining lumber stacked ten feet high on deck. In port, her small crew of eight or nine men were also responsible for loading and unloading the ship. Unloading 75,000 to 80,000 board feet (180 to 190 cubic meter) was an average day's work.

The C.A. THAYER had several careers: it carried lumber to 1912, was a salt and salmon packet to 1924, and was in the cod fishery to 1950, when it was the last commercially working sailing vessel on the west coast. The ship had a number of owners during this time: E.K. Wood Lumber Co. (S.F.) (1895-1912); Captain Peter Nelson (San Francisco) (1912-1925); Pacific Coast Codfishing (Seattle) (1925-1952); Charles Macneil (Seattle) (1952-1957).

The State of California purchased the C.A. THAYER in 1957. After preliminary restoration in Seattle, Washington, a volunteer crew sailed her down the coast to San Francisco. The San Francisco Maritime Museum performed more extensive repairs and refitting, and opened C.A. THAYER to the public in 1963. The vessel was transferred to the National Park Service in 1978, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984.

After 40 years as a museum ship, the C.A. THAYER has again been restored, a restoration which took three years starting in 2004, and which resulted in her temporary removal from her berth at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Approximately 80% of the ship's timbers were replaced with new timbers matching the original wood. The ship sailed back to the Hyde Street Pier on April 12, 2007. She is currently missing her masts and bowsprit.

[History written by SAFR staff and information also taken from http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/ca-thayer-history.htm, accessed October 27, 2011]

EPPLETON HALL The EPPLETON HALL was built in 1914 by the Hepple and Company of South Shields, England, for the Lambton and Hetton Collieries, Ltd. The vessel, named after the Lambton family's ancestral home, was designed to tow ocean-going colliers (coal-carrying vessels) to and from the port of Newcastle on the River Tyne. Coal was a booming business, and days of transit time were saved by towing the sailing vessels upriver to load. The vessel was also used to tow newly-built ships out to sea.

The EPPLETON HALL is a steam sidewheeler with side-lever engines, and is the only remaining intact example of a Tyne paddle tug. The vessel was engaged on the Wear and Tyne rivers of northeast England from 1914-1967 and she is a direct descendent of the first craft to go into commercial service as harbor tugs. In 1946, she was purchased by France Fenwick, Wear and Tyne Ltd., which operated her in the Wear River until 1964 (she is being restored to this period today).

The EPPLETON HALL's steam engines are descended from a type first developed in England in 1828. The two large side lever engines, often referred to as grasshopper engines, operate the paddle wheels independently, making the tug especially maneuverable in tight spots. Another unusual feature of the EPPLETON HALL is its hand-forged boilers designed to use seawater. Every six weeks the accumulated salt had to be chipped out of the boilers and rinsed away. The advantage was that large freshwater tanks did not have to be carried aboard.

In 1952, the tug was slightly modified in order to obtain a Passenger Certificate, so that she could transport officials from newly-launched steamers. Her last commercial owner was the Seaham Harbour Dock Board, which operated her from 1964 to 1967. She was sold for scrap in 1967 to Clayton and Davie, Shipbreakers and, while sitting on a mud bank, fire (part of the scrapping process) destroyed her wooden afterdeck and interior.

In December of 1968, Scott Newhall discovered the EPPLETON HALL in Newcastle after trying to acquire the last operating paddle tug RELIANT, which was slated to be dismantled and pieces put into an exhibit at the Greenwich Maritime Museum. Newhall wanted to purchase the RELIANT but was told it was already spoken for and he was shown the EPPLETON HALL as an alternative; however he still wanted the RELIANT. In early 1969, Newhall assembled a group of maritime enthusiasts in Newcastle for the negotiation of the purchase of the RELIANT and they arrived sometime near the beginning of May. Scott hoped to purchase the RELIANT from the Greenwich Maritime Museum, defray the cost of their investment in the RELIANT and have them use parts from the EPPLETON HALL for their exhibit instead. He wanted to do all this in order to prevent the sea worthy vessel RELIANT from being cut-up into parts and then take the RELIANT back to San Francisco.

In early May 1969, it was determined that they could not purchase the RELIANT and Newhall decided to purchase the EPPLETON HALL. Restoration efforts were turned to her and Bill Bartz remained in Newcastle to oversee the design and renovation of the vessel. She was taken to R.B. Harrison & Sons, Ltd. Shipyard. Bartz worked alongside shipyard employees to restore her and hired appropriate staff to make sure that she was logistically able to leave England for the United States. As she was no longer a vessel used for commercial means, she was registered as a yacht. This allowed her to take on a volunteer crew and have an easier time finding accommodations in ports. She remained registered as a private yacht until 1979.

In mid-September of 1969, the EPPLETON HALL departed England with a crew consisting of Scott Newhall, Karl Kortum and his son Johnny, Bill Bartz and his children Heide and Billy, and engineers and a purser, bound for San Francisco via the Panama Canal. Despite technical difficulties, inclement weather conditions, and illness of the crew, she steamed through the Golden Gate on March 24, 1970.

The vessel was donated to the National Park Service in 1979. She is now berthed at Hyde Street Pier.

Sources: History written by SAFR staff and information also taken from http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/eppleton-hall-history.htm, accessed October 31, 2011

Newhall, Scott. The Eppleton Hall. Berkeley, California: Howell-North Books. 1971.

During World War I, UKIAH carried munition-filled rail cars for the war effort. After WWI, UKIAH needed extensive repair, and shipwrights at the Southern Pacific yard labored for two years - eventually replacing all of her structure above the waterline. This kind of reconstruction was called "jacking up the whistle and sliding a new boat underneath." In 1923 she was re-christened EUREKA and was launched from the Southern Pacific yard as a passenger and automobile ferry (her present form).

At one time, Southern Pacific Railroad operated forty-two ferryboats on the Bay (they transported 50,000,000 passengers per year). Construction of the Bay and Golden Gate bridges (mid 1930s) signaled the end of the ferryboat era, however. In 1941, EUREKA had the distinction of making the last Marin County run, and by the 1950s regular ferry service was limited to railroad connections. Eureka kept working, but on February 20, 1957, the main crankpin of the walking beam engine broke while en route to San Francisco from the Oakland mole, just after her 11:40pm departure. The walking beam was separated from the cylinder and the EUREKA had to be towed back to Oakland. This was her last trip as a passenger ferry. Just one year later on July 30, 1958, the only remaining ferry boat SAN LEANDRO made the last transbay ferryboat run.

The EUREKA was acquired by the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park in 1958 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1985. EUREKA is the only surviving wooden-hulled ferryboat.

[History written by SAFR staff. Information also taken from http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/eureka-history.htm and from Levingston, Steven E., "Historic Ships of San Francisco", 1984.]

HERCULES The tugboat HERCULES was built by John H. Dialogue and Son, of Camden, New Jersey, in 1907. She had been ordered by the San Francisco-based Shipowners' and Merchants' Tugboat Company, to join their Red Stack fleet (named for their red-painted smoke stacks).

When completed, HERCULES towed her sister ship, the GOLIAH, through the Strait of Magellan to San Francisco. Both vessels were oil-burners; GOLIAH carried fuel, water and supplies for her sister. HERCULES towed barges, sailing ships and log rafts between Pacific ports. Because prevailing north-west winds generally made travel up the coast by sail both difficult and circuitous, tugs often towed large sailing vessels to points north of San Francisco.

In 1916, HERCULES towed the C. A. THAYER to Port Townsend, Washington. The trip took six days. She also towed the FALLS OF CLYDE, now a museum ship in Hawaii. On trips back down the coast, HERCULES often towed huge log rafts, laden with millions of board feet of Northwest timber, to Southern California mills. At other times, HERCULES towed barges of bulk cargoes between other West Coast Ports, and to Hawaii. During the construction of the Panama Canal, she towed a huge floating caisson (a steel structure used for closing the entrance to locks) to the Canal Zone.

In her deep-sea days, HERCULES usually carried a crew of fifteen: enough manpower for her Engine Department to stand three watches while underway. The deep, narrow hull made life uncomfortable at times, because it rode low in the water, and the main deck was often awash. However, the food was good and, for an experienced hand, the work was steady. Tugboat captains were generally well-paid and highly respected, for it took considerable experience to bring a tug and a heavy tow through high seas in bad weather--and good judgment to navigate the shallow bars and narrow entrances of West Coast ports. HERCULES was eventually acquired by the Western Pacific Railroad Company. Her career changed significantly; she no longer served as an ocean-going tug, but shuttled railroad car barges back and forth across San Francisco Bay. She worked until 1962, when changing transportation patterns (the decline of the railroads) and the introduction of diesel-powered tugs sealed her fate.

HERCULES avoided the scrap yard, but languished until the California State Park Foundation acquired her for the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park, in 1975. The National Park Service took over the task of her restoration in 1977, and in 1986 she was designated a National Historic Landmark. HERCULES has been documented as part of the Historic American Engineering Record's Maritime Record.

[History written by SAFR staff and information also taken from http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/hercules-history.htm]

WAPAMA The WAPAMA is a wooden schooner that was built in 1915 by the St. Helens Ship Building Company of St. Helens, Oregon, which was part of a major complex of lumber industries owned by Charles R. McCormick. She was unique in her construction, varying from established shipbuilding practices of the time but she was representative of an older standard. In 1937 the WAPAMA was sold to the Alaska Transportation Company and in 1938 her name was changed to the TONGASS and she carried mail, freight and passengers until she was sold to a scrapyard in 1949.

In 1958 the San Francisco Maritime State Historical Park acquired the TONGASS and she was towed to San Francisco Bay where restoration work was done. After the initial restoration was completed and her original name was restored, the WAPAMA was brought to the Hyde Street Pier on the San Francisco waterfront to join the fleet of other historic vessels. There she became a favorite attraction in the popular park. While moored to the Hyde Street Pier, the WAPAMA underwent additional restoration in a piecemeal fashion by the park's trained shipwrights.

In 1979 the WAPAMA was in need of additional restoration work but was placed on a preservation dry docked barge due to lack of funds. The WAPAMA was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1984 as she is the last surviving example of some 225 steam schooners that served the lumber trade and other coastal services along the Pacific Coast of the United States in the early 20th century.

As of December 2011 she is currently stored in Richmond, California and is slated to be dismantled in the near future.

[History written by SAFR staff and information also taken from Delgado, James P. 1982 December 17. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Steam Schooner Wapama (Tongass), http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/73000228.pdf, accessed October 27, 2011]

From the guide to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Facilities and Ships Division photographs and media, 1986-1991, (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department)

Historical or Biographical Note

Agency History: The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park comprises what was originally the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park and the San Francisco Maritime Museum. These entities were first made part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service) until 1988 when San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was established.

From the guide to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park events records, 1991-2007, (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department)

Historical or Biographical Note

Contains photographs from events held in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (established in 1988) and events in the park under its prior name of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) National Maritime Museum (in existence from 1977-1988).

From the guide to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park event photographs, 1979-2001, (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department)