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William B. Tennison (bugeye)
Encyclopedia
The William B. Tennison is a Chesapeake Bay
bugeye
built in 1899 and converted to an oyster buy-boat in 1906-07. With the conversion her sail rig was removed and an engine inserted, and is the only surviving example of this conversion. Her construction marks a transition between log construction and plank construction. She is homeported at the Calvert Marine Museum
in Solomons, Maryland
. The Tennison is reputed to be the second oldest licensed passenger vessel in the United States
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980, and as a National Historic Landmark
in 1994.
For her conversion to a buy-boat the Tennisons mainmast and the running rigging to the foremast, necessary for sailing, were removed. The foremast was then used to hoist bushel-sized oyster baskets from other vessels to the hold using two gaff-rigged booms. A pilothouse with a rounded from was added, as is typical in Chesapeake Bay buy-boats. Three windows occupy the front, with one window and a door on each side. The pilothouse is covered with vertical tongue and groove cypress siding. Two bunks are on the port side aft, along with an enclosed head aft. A floor hatch gives access to the engine compartment. The foc'sle once housed three bunks, a table and a cookstove.
. She was built relatively late for a bugeye, as the type was going out of style in favor of the smaller, cheaper skipjack. Benjamin P. and Rufus L. Miles of Monie used her as an oyster dredge until 1908-09 when she was converted to power. In 1910 the Tennison was sold to Alphonse Lafayette Hazelwood of Eclipse, Virginia who used her to haul produce in the Norfolk
and Albemarle Sound
area until 1930. During the oyster season she was used as a buy-boat. Her original 37 horsepower engine was replaced with a 60 horsepower engine during this time. She was sold to Barney B. Winnal of Carrollton, Virginia
in 1933 for $2050. After her sale to O.A. Bloxom of the Battery Park Fish and Oyster Company near Smithfield, Virginia
, she was sold in 1944 to J.C Lore and Sons of Solomons, Maryland
. The Lores used Tennison to dredge oysters on their private beds, where power could be used, and as a buy-boat.
The Tennison was partially rebuilt at the H. Krentz Railway in Harryhogan, Virginia
in 1952. The pilot house was rebuilt during this time. She was beached by Hurricane Hazel
in 1952, and the scar from being dragged over an obstruction to refloat her is reputedly still visible when she is hauled out of the water. In 1955 a Grey Marine 155-horsepower diesel engine was installed, possibly having been taken from a naval landing craft. She was converted to a passenger boat in 1977, with nearly all of the structural frames replaced at that time.
The identity of her namesake, William B. Tennison, remains unknown.
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
bugeye
Bugeye
The bugeye is a type of sailboat developed in the Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging. The predecessor of the skipjack, it was superseded by the latter as oyster harvests dropped.- Origins :...
built in 1899 and converted to an oyster buy-boat in 1906-07. With the conversion her sail rig was removed and an engine inserted, and is the only surviving example of this conversion. Her construction marks a transition between log construction and plank construction. She is homeported at the Calvert Marine Museum
Calvert Marine Museum
The Calvert Marine Museum is a maritime museum, founded in 1970, located in Solomons, Maryland. Among its exhibits are the Drum Point Light and the bugeye Wm. B. Tennison, the latter a National Historic Landmark. It also houses artifacts from the old Cedar Point Light, and maintains the Drum...
in Solomons, Maryland
Solomons, Maryland
Solomons is a community and census-designated place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,536 at the 2000 census...
. The Tennison is reputed to be the second oldest licensed passenger vessel in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980, and as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1994.
Description
The William B. Tennison was built as a nine-log sailing bugeye, using pitch pine logs, 9 inches (22.9 cm) thick at the keel and tapering to 6 inches (15.2 cm) at the outer edges. She is 60.5 feet (18.4 m) long on deck and has a beam of 17.5 feet (5.3 m) with a draft of 4.5 feet (1.4 m).The hullform is flat-bottomed with rounded chines, and is sharp at each end. Framing and planking are built up above the logs for freeboard, using oak frames at approximate 30 inches (76.2 cm) centers. A bulhead separates the foc'sle from the hold. A second blunkhead was added when she was converted to power between the hold nd the engine compartment. At the same time the centerboard trunk was removed. A "patent stern" was added to square the deck above the sharp stern and add working space. A portion of the rudder has been cut away to allow for a propeller.For her conversion to a buy-boat the Tennisons mainmast and the running rigging to the foremast, necessary for sailing, were removed. The foremast was then used to hoist bushel-sized oyster baskets from other vessels to the hold using two gaff-rigged booms. A pilothouse with a rounded from was added, as is typical in Chesapeake Bay buy-boats. Three windows occupy the front, with one window and a door on each side. The pilothouse is covered with vertical tongue and groove cypress siding. Two bunks are on the port side aft, along with an enclosed head aft. A floor hatch gives access to the engine compartment. The foc'sle once housed three bunks, a table and a cookstove.
History
The William B. Tennison was built in 1899 by Frank Laird of Monie, Maryland at Crabb Island, near Oriole, MarylandOriole, Maryland
Oriole is an unincorporated community in Somerset County, Maryland, United States.-References:...
. She was built relatively late for a bugeye, as the type was going out of style in favor of the smaller, cheaper skipjack. Benjamin P. and Rufus L. Miles of Monie used her as an oyster dredge until 1908-09 when she was converted to power. In 1910 the Tennison was sold to Alphonse Lafayette Hazelwood of Eclipse, Virginia who used her to haul produce in the Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
and Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...
area until 1930. During the oyster season she was used as a buy-boat. Her original 37 horsepower engine was replaced with a 60 horsepower engine during this time. She was sold to Barney B. Winnal of Carrollton, Virginia
Carrollton, Virginia
Carrollton is a census-designated place in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 4,574....
in 1933 for $2050. After her sale to O.A. Bloxom of the Battery Park Fish and Oyster Company near Smithfield, Virginia
Smithfield, Virginia
Smithfield is a town in Isle of Wight County, in the South Hampton Roads subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia in the United States. The population was 8,089 at the 2010 census....
, she was sold in 1944 to J.C Lore and Sons of Solomons, Maryland
Solomons, Maryland
Solomons is a community and census-designated place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,536 at the 2000 census...
. The Lores used Tennison to dredge oysters on their private beds, where power could be used, and as a buy-boat.
The Tennison was partially rebuilt at the H. Krentz Railway in Harryhogan, Virginia
Harryhogan, Virginia
Harryhogan is an unincorporated community in Northumberland County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Reference:...
in 1952. The pilot house was rebuilt during this time. She was beached by Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...
in 1952, and the scar from being dragged over an obstruction to refloat her is reputedly still visible when she is hauled out of the water. In 1955 a Grey Marine 155-horsepower diesel engine was installed, possibly having been taken from a naval landing craft. She was converted to a passenger boat in 1977, with nearly all of the structural frames replaced at that time.
The identity of her namesake, William B. Tennison, remains unknown.
See also
- J. C. Lore Oyster HouseJ. C. Lore Oyster HouseJ. C. Lore Oyster House, also known as J. C. Lore and Sons, Inc., Seafood Packing Plant, is located in Solomons, Calvert County, Maryland. It is a large two story, rectangular frame industrial building constructed in 1934 as a seafood packing plant. It replaced a 1922 building that was destroyed...
, where the Tennison is presently homeported, also a National Historic Landmark
External links
- WILLIAM B. TENNISON (bugeye), Calvert County, including photo in 2001, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Photographs of the Tennison at the National Park Service's NRHP database