Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 x State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National - Local government Register _ University - designated a National Historic Landmark _ Other _ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # Name of repository: _ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record #_ NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number 8 Page. 1 8. SIGNIFICANCE The catboat Witch, a unique vessel that epitomizes the sport of recreational yachting at the turn of the century, is eligible tor listing in the National Register of Historic Places under criteria A and C, with significance at the local, state and national levels. The period of significance for the Witch extends from 1901 to 1958, which allows for the typical 50-year cut off. The boat is significant under Criterion A for its association with the social history of recreational sailing and racing in Massachusetts and the nation; its design and construction were strongly influenced by the boating trend spawned by the growth of summer communities on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The Witch is strongly associated with the history of American sailing through the innovative yacht design legacy of naval architect B. B. Crowninshield (of the family well-known for its eminence in the Salem-based China Sea trade), and the shipbuilding and marine merchant heritage of the Witch's first owners, the Howes family. The Witch is significant under Criterion C for its distinctive catboat design characteristics and its exemplification of the one-design mode popularized at the end of the 19th century. Its physical characteristics are representative of the catboat type and method of construction, and demonstrate the work of a master boat designer. Its unique features reflect adaptation to the racing rules of the time and B.B. Crowninshield's reputation for designing handsome, innovative, race-worthy boats. The conversion from a gaff rig to a Marconi rig (ca.
1939-45) reflects an adoption of the latest sailing technology for racing yachts that had appeared in international sailing competition (the America's Cup) in 1930. This qualified the Witch to compete again on a par with the latest recreational racing boats. The Witch is also significant under Criterion C for its association with a distinguished naval architect from a powerful and influential family tied to the China Sea trade. The Witch may represent the oldest surviving B.B. Crowninshield boat design, and is one of the very oldest actively sailed yachts of any design in the United States. For over a century, the boat has served its original purpose, providing family recreational sailing. The Witch retains integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
Commission for the Witch The Witch's design was commissioned in 1900 by Charles Henry Davis, a wealthy engineer and visionary transportation advocate who founded the National Highways Association. Davis and three of his summer neighbors on Bass River, in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, took delivery of the only four boats to be constructed from the one-class design drafted by naval architect B. B. Crowninshield. Davis was owner of the first catboat, Hun, and Osborne Howes II, a grandson of the founder of Howes and Crowell Shipping Company, received the Witch (known today as Gypsy). Two affluent Howes in-laws, the Donald and Henry families, owned the Merwin and Flossie G., respectively. Notably, the four Crowninshield # 149s dated from the same year that Crowninshield's innovative Independence was built to defend the America's Cup.
A single contract (Design #149 in the Crowninshield Papers archived at the Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA), served for all four vessels. The January 1901, agreement stated that the boat owner was to pay the boat builder, A.C. Howland & Co. of Monument Beach, the sum of $375.00 for construction of a boat, per the Crowninshield plans and specifications. While it is difficult to state unequivocally which of the four boats made to Design #149 is the one named the Witch, the chain of ownership and other historical evidence make a convincing claim that the boat owned by Marjorie O'Brien was previously known as the Witch. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number 8 Page2 Bowdoin Bradlee Crowninshield, Naval Architect Naval architect Bowdoin Bradlee Crowninshield (1867-1948) was a member of the Salem family dynasty that gained wealth and prominence in the 19# century as shipbuilders and merchants in the East China trade. Two vessels owned by B. B.'s great uncle George Crowninshield, Jr., are considered to be the first recorded yachts in America - the sloop Jefferson built in 1801, and the legendary hermaphrodite brig that replaced the Jefferson in 1816, Cleopatra's Barge. Son of Benjamin Crowninshield and born in New York City, B. B. Crowninshield moved with his family to Marblehead and grew up racing small craft on Massachusetts Bay with his brother, Francis.
He was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Harvard and served in World War I as an ambulance driver. After initial ventures in real estate in Montana and then Boston, he started his marine design career in 1896 as a draftsman with John R. Purdon of Marblehead. Crowninshield left the firm the following year and established his own practice with a partner, John Tandy. For the balance of his career, Crowninshield was involved in a variety of marine-related activities, including design, construction, brokerage, insurance, and personnel and property management. A prolific, innovative, and versatile designer, Crowninshield is best known for two vessels - the seven-masted schooner Thomas W. Lawson, the only seven-master ever built and the largest sailing vessel (385 feet) in the world when it was launched in 1902, and the 1901 America's Cup contender Independence.
There are conflicting stories on the fate of the Independence. Crowninshield's New York Times obituary in 1948 reported that the owner of the Independence, financier Thomas W. Lawson, refused to comply with the entry rules for the race and was denied permission to compete; it was said that he later had the yacht destroyed. Another source stated that the vessel, although highly innovative, had numerous faults and suffered a series of mishaps that prevented it from winning the role of Cup Defender. Crowninshield designed vessels of all types and sizes, including commercial, fishing, and racing schooners with a remarkable range of from two to seven masts. Among these, the cargo schooners Hester (1917) and Luther Little were built at the Crowninshield shipyard in Somerset, MA. They were familiar sights along the Wiscasset, ME, waterfront for 50 years.
Other notable boats of his design included the Grand Banks fishing schooners Tartar and Stranger. Several models of Crowninshield's Gloucester "Grand Bankers" are on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Crowninshield's One-Design Boats Crowninshield moved easily back and forth between the design of very large vessels and smaller craft. Concurrent with his work on larger vessels was a series of designs for smaller racing boats that indulged Crowninshield's own racing passion and burnished his reputation for designing competitive racers. In the late 19" century, Crowninshield embraced the "one-design" boat trend that had swept the New York and Boston yacht clubs.
The Rudder magazine reported in 1890 that the concept of building a number of boats off the same plan resulted in more democratic racing, where "it is the best man who wins" rather than the "one man, having outbuilt the fleet (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number 8 Page 3 by having the longest pocketbook, [who]is always sure to win." The standardized approach was cost effective, requiring only a single designer, a single builder, and a single mold. One-design racers allowed a group of friends, such as Charles Henry Davis and his neighbors, to come together and agree upon a type of boat, its particulars, price, and delivery schedule. B. B.
Crowninshield created numerous one-designs in addition to the Witch's Design # 149. His highly original knockabout (a small sloop with a mainsail, jib, and keel, but no bowsprit), Mongoose, gained notoriety by racing its way to the class championship in 1898. The following year, the raceabout (a small sloop with the keel of a knockabout but with finer lines and more sail) Pirate was described by The Rudder magazine as the most accomplished design of its type. In 1908, Crowninshield designed #318, later known as the Dark Harbor 17 ½, for the Manchester Yacht Club. The initial batch of 12 boats built off Design #318 in 1909 increased to a Dark Harbor class fleet of 100 by the 1930s. In contrast, only four boats were built to the Camden knockabout one- design of 1914.
Indulging his own racing habit, and cognizant of the value of publicity, Crowninshield continued to race the boats of his creation long after his reputation was firmly established. A.C. Howland Company/R. Bigelow Company Boatyard The Witch and its three companion boats were built atthe A.C. Howland Co. boatyard ofMonument Beach, Bourne, MA, in the winter of 1900 - 01 during, or just prior to, transfer of the yard's ownership to Reuben Bigelow. Bigelow, a fourth-generation boat builder from Nova Scotia, purchased the boatyard sometime in 1901 after a fire damaged the facility. Before Bigelow purchased the yard, he had worked for Howland and had in all probability bought into the business. Building on the equity of the respected Howland name, the yard continued to be known as the A.C. Howland Co. boatyard for a time after the transition.
Reuben Bigelow's great-grandson, Michael Bigelow, speculated in 2005 that the growing popularity of recreational small-craft yachting among affluent summer residents on the Bay attracted Reuben to Monument Beach. The demand for pleasure craft, and catboats in particular, was sufficient at the turn of the century to support five boat builders at Monument Beach, including A.C. Howland, C.C. Hanley, W.W. Phinney, and Frederick Dunn. Catboats were Reuben Bigelow's specialty, although his yard produced top-quality class boats, sloops, and work boats. One of the most famous was the 60-foot schooner Nina, a racing yacht built in 1928 that won the Queen of Spain's Cup, the British Fastnet Race, and a 625-mile race from Newport to Bermuda. The design of the popular and enduring Wenaumet "Kitten" catboat is attributed by differing sources to either Reuben Bigelow or his son, Cecil. The R.
Bigelow Boatyard turned out 86 of the one-design racers, which in a 1995 newsletter of the Bourne Historical Society were reported to be "still very much a favorite for the class racing at local yacht clubs as well as being ideally suited for pure pleasure in the usual southwest breeze of Buzzards Bay." In 2002, Berkshire Wooden Boats was licensed to produce traditional Wenaumet Kittens on the Bigelow form. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page_4 Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Business at the Bigelow yard continued to grow after Reuben's death in 1933, and the operation was led successively by his son Cecil, grandson Myron, and great-grandson Michael.
The shop was moved to Phinney's Point in 1954 after suffering virtual destruction by Hurricane Carol; most of its business records, photographs, and models were lost in the hurricane's 15-foot tidal surge. The boatyard moved again in 1963 to MacArthur Boulevard, where it operated until 2004. According to the yard's last owner, Michael Bigelow, the advent of fiberglass in the 1950s substantially reduced the demand for wooden boats. Of the five boat builders at Monument Beach in1900, only the Bigelow yard existed in 2004. By the mid-1990s, most of the boatyard's work was in hauling and repair, although boats were still built on request. Ironically, the Witch was stored at the R. Bigelow Co. yard from about 1969 until 1975 by owner Marjorie O'Brien, who at the time had no idea of the connection between the yard and the catboat's early years.
Recreational Sailing in New England When Osborne Howes II acquired the Witch in 1901, his family and neighbors were participants in a nationwide phenomenon - enthusiasts engaging in one of many activities newly possible for a burgeoning class of Americans for whom leisure time had become a reality. For most of the 19" century, middle-class Americans worked six days a week and kept a strict Sabbath. Recreational activities required time, a commodity that was not available until industrialization and the end of the Civil War created a new work/play paradigm.
According to historian Llewellyn Howland, the last decades of the 19" century witnessed scores of "social, athletic, cultural, and educational organizations coming into being throughout the United States in response to the ambitions and demands of a newly empowered middle- and upper middle-class." Numerous sailing clubs were established in this period, including the Eastern Yacht Club, formed on Boston's North Shore in 1870 by dissidents from the venerable New York Yacht Club. Eastern Club racing rules required boats of 30 or more feet in length, leaving smaller craft out of the field. The Beverly Yacht Club was founded in 1872 by an Eastern Club member expressly to provide a venue for smaller racers. Beverly had members from both the North and South Shores and popularized small-boat bayside sailing.
It ran its first union race in 1879 in Buzzards Bay off Monument Beach, where breezes were reliable and catboats were already popular. In 1885, a group led by C.H. Foster and Benjamin Crowninshield (father to B. B. Crowninshield) organized the Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead for boats between 16 and 30 feet at the waterline. Like predecessor Corinthian clubs in other parts of the country, the club's objectives were to advance the design of small boats and to promote racing by amateurs who sailed without a paid crew. The name "Corinthian" means a fan of amateur sports, especially a yachtsman, and may refer to the sailing tradition of ancient Corinth. Within a short time of its founding the club had hosted many important small boat races, and had contributed significantly to the dramatic rise of amateur small boat racing on the East Coast.
During the early 1900s the club introduced Marblehead Race Week, a full week of racing that drew sailors from around the country and endures today. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number Page5 When affordable internal combustion engines became available to small craft owners at the turn of the century, yachting completed its transformation from a sport of the elite to one accessible to Americans of more modest means. Historian Howland noted that Thomas Fleming Day, founding editor of The Rudder magazine, helped popularize the sport with a series of how-to articles and inspiring narratives of cruises made by amateur sailors in command of their own boats.
The sudden proliferation of affordable one-design boats at the turn of century was a natural corollary to the Corinthian phenomenon. The enjoyment and influences of recreational small-boat sailing and racing were relatively fluid along the East Coast. This phenomenon went hand in hand with the advent of summer colonies, summer hotels, and summer vacations that lasted the entire season. City dwellers who could afford it relocated to the shore for the summer. Escaping the heat, unsanitary conditions, and exposure to diseases prevalent in the summer, families would remain at the shore while the men commuted on the weekends, often by boat. While relatively homogeneous with respect to social class (and income), these East Coast summer colonies and resorts did encourage the intermingling of people with similar interests from other states and cities.
The yacht clubs on Cape Cod by and large consisted of summer transplants. Thus, designers, boat owners, and competitors were familiar with one another's work and accomplishments. During the 1880s and 1890s, catboat racing flourished, especially around Cape Cod and New York. Prior to this time, the catboat was familiar as a working boat used by local fishermen. Its ability to navigate the shallow waters of the Cape and to handle the choppy waters of Buzzards Bay meant it was well adapted to the local conditions. As a result, it proliferated on Cape Cod as a recreational boat as well. Its stability and simplicity also made the catboat popular from the East to the West Coast. The Witch, Hun, Merwin, and Flossie G. exemplified the era when the smaller recreational catboat was popular.
They each entered races at the Wianno Yacht Club in their first several years, competing against each other informally as well as at other venues. The ad hoc Bass River Yacht Club staged regular Saturday catboat races beginning in the mid-1890s. The Bass River class grew from three or four boats to a large fleet that had to be handicapped due to the differences in length and the number of sails. The proximity of the several Monument Beach boat builders to the Beverly Yacht Club on Wing's Neck and many other summer sailing clubs on the Cape were thought to further popularize the catboat. According tothehistory of the Bass River Yacht Club, "There was steady racing with several classes until 1910. Charles H. Davis in this period had such famous boats as the beautiful sloops 'Atilla', 'Hun I', 'Hun II', 'Kentenia'... " (all of which were designed by B. B. Crowninshield).
As in the case of the other one-design boats gaining popularity with racers, the Crowninshield #149 reduced the variables, thus making sailboat racing a test of skill. Inter-club sailing brought the competition of small-boat racing to the next step. The yacht clubs and informal races offered the opportunity to sail against a larger field of competitors. Charles H. Davis, it appears, was keen on competing as he won a race he skippered aboard Hun at the Riverside Yacht Club on Long Island Sound on July 7, 1907. Despite all of the interest, as well as organizational, social, and recreational institutions emerging to support this new pastime of the middle class, there were understandable declines in recreational sailing and racing during the two World Wars as well as during the Great Depression.
These periods also saw fewer new commissions for yacht designers; however, interest still grew between these periods. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page_ 6 Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Outgrowths of the enthusiasm for Corinthian sailing were summer sailing camps, which populated the Cape in the first half of the 20th century. In Chatham, there was Avalon Sailing Camp. Orleans claimed 14 camps between 1905 & 1988, including Namequoit (opened 1925), Owaissa (opened 1909; later renamed Camp Tonset), Viking (opened 1929), Pleasant Bay (opened1938), Sealore and Seamaid (both opened in the1930s). Some of these closed by the end of World War II, but others survived until the late 20* century.
Cape Cod Sea Camps (founded 1922) are still operating in Brewster. A large summer sailing camp on Mashnee Island (closed by 1941) used a ramp alongside the Bigelow Boat Yard to come ashore, implying a likely connection between the two. In addition to teaching sailing, the camps promoted competitive sailing among the camps, correlating to similar junior sailing programs at the yacht clubs. The Witch's Career with the Howes OsborneHowes II (1877-1934), who in1900 partnered with two Howes family in-laws and Charles H. Davis to acquire one of the four sister catboats built to Crowninshield's Design #149, was the grandson of Osborne Howes I. Osborne Howes I (1806-1893) was a sea captain, shipping merchant, and ship owner who acquired considerable wealth in the era of the China Sea trade. Howes co-founded the Howes & Crowell shipping company in Boston with his brother-in-law, Isaiah Crowell.
The firm was known for its collection of fine clipper ships and its innovative ship sail designs. Osborn Howes (1846-1907) was a lawyer, merchant, editor of the Boston Herald newspaper, and Japanese Consul. His son, Osborne Howes Il, was a stockbroker and possible owner of a seat on the Boston Stock Exchange. Howes acquired the Witch soon after his graduation from Harvard in 1901. Married to Mildred Cox at age 32 in 1909, he was father to two adopted daughters. In 1912 Howes purchased the new 90-foot houseboat/yacht Santanta, which was sailed by his family in New England waters in the summer and Florida in the winter. The Santanta is active today as an excursion/dinner cruise vessel on the Panama Canal. The Howes family lived in Brookline, Massachusetts and owned a summer home, dubbed "The Witch House," in Yarmouth, on Cape Cod. Seventeen-year-old Gretchen Howes (b.
1884), one of Osborne Howes II's three siblings, kept a diary during the summers of 1901 and 1902 that is rich with text and photographic references to the Witch. An exuberant account of summer life on the Cape, the diary (also named "The Witch House") recorded the comings and goings of relatives and friends and described their activities, including swimming contests, pianola evenings, tennis matches, "rough houses," and sailboat racing. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Page 7 The Witch and her frequent interfamily races figured prominently in the summer activities of Gretchen, her siblings, and cousins.
In 1901, the Witch's first sailing season, diarist Gretchen writes of the hapless boat's misfortunes and rare wins: Sunday, June 30th. Took out the Witch - and accident No. 1 occurred - her centerboard escaped through the bottom - Howsey [Osborne Howes II] came and rescued it. Monday, July 1: Accident No. II: We broke the Witch's boom! - and were towed up river by Dolly! Wednesday, July 3: The Witch is reballasted, and sails better - which is a great success in spite of thundershowers. Thursday, July 4: The Donalds win the race, with Gordon, Malcolm and Hallowell Gardiner as crew. Accident No. III - the Witch, with Ken at the helm, Howsey tending sheet, and Gretchen grasping the centerboard rope, comes in last. Each of the crew has his (or her) explanation of how it all happened, and needless to say, each is wholly different from the others.
Friday, July 5: The Witch sails mighty well, and holds her own with the Hun. Saturday, July 13th: The Donalds win the race again: we came in about a minute behind. Sunday, July 14: A good wet race in the morning, in which we took our usual place. Thursday, July 18t*: The Witch has a private race with the Merwin, and beats her. Saturday, July 20: After setting the pace for the other boats, in the race, we content ourselves with the third place. Tuesday, Aug. 6: Johnny Picket brings the Witch in last in the "professional race." The Merwin is disabled, but the Hun comes in first. We all follow in the launch. Saturday, Aug. 17t: Great open race at Wianno - boats all came B.R.B. at 6 o'clock and race to the Wianno pier. The Hun wins, and the Witch comes second. We follow later in the Amadee. The race is very pretty -- even though the Witch did come in last in her class.
Although most of the Witch's races during the summers of 1901 and 1902 were informal contests with the three other catboats, the Merwin, Hun, and Flossie; several diary entries and other references mention their participation in larger races at Wianno and Osterville. Frequent scheduled open races at Wianno and Hyannisport were run by the unofficial Bass River Yacht Club, a racing center that was organized in 1896 but operated without a formal charter until 1931. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number Page 8 The Wianno Yacht Club's clubhouse and dock were in place at least by 1903, as documented by a postcar from that year.
Wianno purchased The Cotocheset House (a hotel) in 1916 to provide lodgings for its members. Today it serves as the clubhouse. The former Osterville (formerly known as Oysterville) Yacht Club building, moved in 1931 to its present location in West Bay, is also seen in a Wianno postcard, in the year of the move, the Osterville Yacht Club members becoming members of the Wianno Yacht Club. The Howes family kept the Witch until about 1926, when it was sold to Ted Frothingham, owner of the "Ship Shore" marina on Bass River. He sold it a year later to Edward Barus, a Howes relative and an employee of the Crosby Yacht yards in Osterville. The Witch sailed on Lewis Bay and was reportedly heavily damaged in the 1938 hurricane; it is likely that its conversion to a Marconi sloop rig occurred while storm repairs were being made.
Adoption of the Marconi rig, with a taller, triangular sail, continued to make the Witch competitive. Beached for several years, she was eventually sold to an unidentified Boston owner around 1940-41. Presumably the Boston owner was the John P. Foley who sold the Witch, then named the Wren, to the O'Briens in 1949 and reported that the boat had come from Cape Cod about 10 years earlier. Marconi Rig The Witch's change to a Marconi rig ca. 1939-45 corresponded to the latest in sailing technology, which held that the Marconi rig (so named for its need for multiple stays, which reminded some of Guglielmo Marconi's radio towers) was the optimal design as compared to the gaff rig for close-haul sailing (sailing upwind). Early adoption of the Marconi rig for racing included the Herreshoff S-Class boats. Designed by Nathaniel G.
Herreshoff in 1919, they were introduced in 1920 and quickly became a favorite. Talk of converting existing racing yachts from gaff rig to a Marconi rig appeared at the same time. In 1919 there was discussion that the Resolute (also a Herreshoff design), built to defend the America's Cup in 1914, was going to be changed to a Marconi rig in time for the 1920 America's Cup race, the 1914 race having been postponed due to WWI. While Resolute won the 1920 America's Cup against the contending Shamrock IV, it did so with a gaff rig. The changeover did appear at the 1930 America's Cup contest, which featured J-Class boats with a Marconi rig. The Marconi rig's triangular main sail is easily distinguished from the four-sided gaff-rigged sail.
Among its advantages for recreational sailing, the Marconi rig weighed less, it was easier to hoist and drop the mainsail with no gaff to hoist, it was easier to reef with a shorter boom that did not extend out past the stern, and it could be sailed under the mainsail alone when conditions were breezy or for simplicity. The advantages for racing were universally accepted. The sailing communities in both the United States and Great Britain believed that the Marconi design was aerodynamically superior to the gaff rig, and therefore it became the preferred design for racing. Wind tunnel tests and racing results in many classes confirmed this hypothesis, followed by the widespread adoption of the newer rig. It was shown that in light winds, the tall, narrow sail on a taller mast characterized by the Marconi rig gathered in more brisk winds aloft than found at the ocean surface.
Additional research may reveal details of the sailing and racing career of the Witch after 1905. The Witch continued to serve for recreational sailing and occasional racing on the Bass River and farther east to (continued) 2 "Cup Defender May Use Marconi Rig" New York Times Oct. 12, 1919. p. 102. NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number 8 Page9 Osterville. Its early association with the Wianno Yacht Club is documented in the Regatta "Committee Minutes of the Wianno Yacht Club 1901 to 1905," and its informal recreational exploits are found in the diary of Gretchen Howes from 1901 to 1902.
The documentation verifies that the four Crowninshield # 149s commonly competed against each other and with other boats officially and unofficially, and at various times with amateurs and professionals at the helm. It also suggests that the Witch was sailed frequently in its early years. Through most of the 1920s, it seems that the Howeses and their son-in-law, Mr. Taylor, may have used the Witch less frequently. In the second half of its first century, the Witch has continued to be a privately owned sailboat. From 1950 through the 1990s its owner, Marjorie O'Brien, has generously invited neighbors and children from the local community to go sailing. There are many instances of three generations of families from the Onset Bay area that had their initial and repeat experiences in sailing aboard the Witch and learned some basic sailing methods.
Through this and Marjorie O'Brien's practice of sailing throughout the summers, the Witch has become a familiar nautical landmark in the Onset Bay area and has been remarked by many passersby onshore and on the water. During this period, the Witch (now Gypsy) has traveled frequently to Martha's Vineyard and infrequently to other ports such as Newport, RI, and Nantucket. The Howeses most likely berthed their Crowninshield #.149 at Osborne Howes' dock on the Bass River, as shown in an early photograph. When the Witch was sold to Ted Frothingham ca. 1926-28, it is assumed that the Witch was berthed, stored, and moored at his marina. Edward Barus, another Howes in-law and the third boat owner ca. 1932-34, most likely kept the boat near Osterville. Barus was said to be the foreman at the Crosby boatyard. The next owner, thought to be Mr.
Foley (who changed the name to Wren), stated upon selling it in 1949 that it had come up from Cape Cod about 10 years earlier. The Witch was purchased by Frank P. O'Brien from Mr. Foley in June 1949 as a graduation present for his daughter Marjorie M. O'Brien, the current owner. From 1949-1973, the Witch was moored at the family's private mooring just west of Lydia Island, except for the summers of 1955 and 1956. Since 1973, it has been docked in the summers at the family dock on the west side of Lydia Island. During the winters of 1958-1960, the Witch was stored ashore at Lydia Island, during the winters of 1961-1962 it was stored at the Marion Boat Yard, at the Jaynes Boat Yard (now OBM) in Onset the winters of 1963-1964, and at Bigelow's Board Yard, Bourne, from 1965-1976.
It cannot be stated with certainty that Gypsy was originally the Witch, but it is unlikely that it was either the Hun or the Flossie. The Hun had a lead keel added to the hull in 1901 and can be excluded; Flossie lacks photographs or anecdotal mention after 1908. The possibility that Gypsy might have been the Merwin is tenuously supported by the fact that when the catboat was purchased, "Wren" appeared on the stern in unusual half-rounded metal letters that might have been recycled from "Merwin." A member of the Donald family, owners of the Merwin, recalled that it had also been fitted with uncommon half-round letters; Merwin's later history has been lost. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number 8 Page_10 At the turn of the century, wooden boats were considered to have a lifespan of 12 to 15 years. A wooden boat exceeding a century in age is highly unusual, and an impossibility unless the craft has been assiduously maintained. The Witch's first owner was a family of devoted sailors who, according to relative Ann Taylor (Howes) Maxtone-Graham, "lavished attention on it." Subsequent owners were associated with the boatyard or boat-building trades, and the current owner has kept the Gypsy seaworthy for 57 years. Its very survival and its soundly documented history and owner chain strongly support Gypsy's former identity as the Witch. (end) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number Page_1 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY Unpublished Sources Bigelow, Michael J. "Some History of R. Bigelow and Company, Builder of the Witch." Letter, August, 2004. Biographical Sketch. Bowdoin B. Crowninshield (1867-1948) Papers, 1870-1946, Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum. Processed by Robert P. Spindler, January, 1988. Bray, Maynard. "The Witch: Comments on Crowninshield's Design #149 and the Sloop (ex-Catboat) The Witch." Brooklin, ME. October, 2004. Crowninshield, B. B. "Contract #149." Crowninshield Papers, M - H19, Box 10, Folder 2. Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum. Genealogical history of the Howes family at the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, MA, July 2002. Howland, Llewellyn III. Letter to Mr.
Frank O'Brien, Sept. 27, 2004. O'Brien, Frank. Miscellaneous notes compiled from resources at Old Yarmouth Historical Society, etc. Peterson, David. Letter to Frank O'Brien. August 3, 2004. Waldo, Gretchen Howes. The Witch House, personal diary 1901 - 02. Original at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. Wehncke, Malcolm. Letter to Mr. Frank O'Brien, undated (estimated late 1970s). Wianno Yacht Club. "Record of Races Sailed in the years 1901 to 1905." Held at the Osterville Historical Society. "Regatta Committee Minutes 1901 to 1903." Held at the Osterville Historical Society. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number9 Page_2 Published Sources Annual Catalogs. B. B.
Crowninshield (1901-1909?) "B. Crowninshield, Ship Designer, Dies: Former Head of Fall River Firm Planned 7-masted Schooner That Set Record for Size." Obituary in New York Times, August 13, 1948. "B. B. Crowninshield Married: Well-known Yacht Designer and Club Man Weds Miss Priscilla J. McPhail in New York." Boston Transcript, May 14, 1901. "Boat builders of Bourne, Part II." Post Scripts, newsletter of the Bourne Historical Society, Winter, 1995. Bray, Maynard. "Designs: The Witch - A century-old long-ended daysailer." WoodenBoat, Number 182, January/February 2005, pp. 88-89. Connors, Louise B. "Famed Racing Yacht, Nina, Was Built by Bigelows." Sunday Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass. July 22, 1962. "Cup Defender May Use Marconi Rig." New York Times, Oct. 12, 1919. p. 102. Gardner, John. "Editor's Comments." National Fisherman, March, 1976. Garland, Joseph E. Boston's North Shore.
Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1978. Haskins, Sturgis. "Elusive Witch." WoodenBoat, Number 13, Nov./Dec. 1976, pp. 40-43. Jones, Gregory O. The American Sailboat, MBI Publishing Company, 2002. Lawley Built, newsletter of the Lawley Boat Owners Association, Spring 2002, No. 31. Sauerbrey, Florence and Jaffiry, Gwendal. "Crowninshield's Knockabout: The Rebirth of the Camden Class." Maritime Life and Tradition, Autumn 2004, No.24, pp. 10-25. "Sound Fleet at Riverside." New York Times, July 7, 1907, p. S2. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Section number9 Page_ 3 Internet Sources "Chronology of the Life of Charles Henry Davis." http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/davis2.htm "Corinthian Yacht Club History" at the Corinthian Yacht Club website. http://www.corinthianyc.org/history62.html "History of BRYC" at the Bass River Yacht Club website. http://www.bassriveryc.org/history.htm "Popular Catboat Lines and Design Elements" at the Catboat Association website. http://www.catboats.org/bigelow.htm Weinbroff, Richard F. "Good Roads Everywhere: Charles Henry Davis and the National Highways Association."http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/davis.htm (end) Witch Name of Property 10.
Geographical Data Acreage of Property - ess than one acre UTM References See continuation sheet. (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) Zone 19 361840 Easting 4621680 Northing 2. Zone Easting Northing Verbal Boundary Description NA (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) Plymouth, MA County and State USGS Quadrangle: Onset, MA 3. Zone Zone Easting Northing Northing Easting See continuation sheet 11. Form Prepared By name/titleLynn Smiledge, Frank E.
O'Brien, with Leslie Donovan, and Betsy Friedberg, NR Director organization_Massachusetts Historical Commission - date April 2008 street & number220 Morrissey Boulevard _ telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston _ stateMA _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property.
Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) Name Marjorie O'Brien street & number 35 Lydia Island Road telephone city or town Wareham state MA _ zip code 02571 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewingthe form.
Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 10 Page_1 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA Geographical Data Boundary Description: The listing entails one catboat originally named the Witch (now the Gypsy). The boundary of the vessel is all of that area enclosed within its extreme dimensions, as follows: Length overall: 22 ft. 4 in. Length water line: 14 ft. 2 in. Draft: 1 ft. 6 in. Beam: 7 ft. 9 in. Forward overhang: 3 ft. 9 in. Area sails: 311 sf Boundary Justification: The Witch (now the Gypsy) is listed at the property where it has been owned and from which it has been sailed since 1949, at 35 Lydia Island Road, Wareham, Massachusetts.
(end) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section numberphotos Page_1 PHOTOGRAPHS Photographer: Frank O'Brien, 2004-05 "Witch" at her mooring At dock, view of deck and bow sprit On trailer, view of bow On trailer in boathouse, view of stern Under the deck, looking toward the bow Under the starboard seat, looking toward the bow Under sail, view toward stern with owner OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Catboat "Witch" Wareham (Plymouth), MA HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS FROM COLLECTION OF MARJORIE O'BRIEN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1920s. 1920s. Woman is Gretchen Howes Waldo, whose diary entries are quoted in Section 8. Young girls fishing from the "Witch's" gaff. Early 1950s. With wire-fix terrier "Skipper" at base of mast. 1951 Shown with catboat mast and Bermuda rig. Early 20" Century.
"Witch" is in background. 1. 1920s. Woman is Gretchen Howes Waldo, whose diary entries are quoted in Section 8. (Collection of Marjorie O'Brien) 2. 1920s. Young girls fishing from the "Witch's" gaff. (Collection of Marjorie O'Brien) 3. Early 1950s. With wire fox terrier "Skipper" at base of mast. (Collection of Marjorie O'Brien) 4. 1951 Shown with catboat mast and Bermuda rig. (Collection of Marjorie O'Brien) 5.. Early 20th Century. "Witch" is in background. (Collection of Marjorie O'Brien) Bo0. Pitay Bou ClaLk prS Deck Plan of Witch 95 Lydia Island Road Wareham, Massachusetts Showing present arrangement of deck hardware fixtures (2008) Not to scale Frank O Brien, del.
HaTci Htn dhng colyeitn Seat Prs CLeaz 16g RO VenTiLaTaA 5164 1G0R 2.84AC SAND HOLE 101A 35- 4e 3 WOODED ARCA 2 dock Trooing Toctus STorage Dolard 1020 s8 Ac + ND FILL 2 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY WITCH (catboat) NAME: MULTIPLE NAME : STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Plymouth DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 5/07/08 6/07/08 EIONAL REFERENCE NUMBER: 08000533 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 5/23/08 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 6/20/08 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: OTHER: N PDIL: N PERIOD: N PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: COMMENT WAIVER: N / ACCEPT RETURN ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: REJECT 6/18/2008 DATE N N Y Ettremely rare surviving example of an eanly 2oth century (1901) recreational racing yacht once common on American coaots.
See Kevin Fosteris email commento (Chie, NPS National Macitime Heritage Prosam) on significance and hiotoric integiity RECOM./CRITERIA Accept Arc REVIEWER Patrick Andrus DISCIPLINE Nistorian TELEPHONE DATE 6182008 DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N If a nomination is returned to the nominating authority, the nomination is no longer under consideration by the NPS. At her mooring Frank O'Brien plesto, 2004-05 "Witch" Ware ham, Plymouth County, MA Photo No.1 Frank O'Brun Mlato, 2004-05 at dock, niw f dech and bow smit "Witch" Warchar, Plymouth County, MA Photo No. 2 on trailer, new o bow Frank 0'Arieu plioto 2004-05 "Witch" ware ham, Plymouth county, Mr Photo Ma 3 NAGT GYPSY on trailer in boathoure, niw gatern Franh D'Arien ploto, 2004-05 "Witch" Ware ham, Plymouth County, M.
Photo No.4 undur the dech, looking toward the how Franh O'Brien ploto 2004-05 "Witeh" Ware ham, Plymouth County MA Photo No.5 under the starhoard mat, looking loward the bow Frank O'Brien ploto "Witech" Warcham, Plymouth county, MA Photo No. 6 HOOD undu sail, new towand stuu with o Franh O'Brien ploto "Nitch" Warcham, Plymouth County,' Photo No.7 LELD LBERTAND D LIBERY The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission April 29, 2008 Mr. J. Paul Loether National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW, 8th floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Mr.
Loether: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Catboat "Witch", Lydia Island Rd., Wareham (Plymouth), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of the property were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30 to 45 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Sincerely, BetsyFredkeg Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure CC: Leslie Donovan, Lynn W.
Smiledge, consultants James Mellon, Wareham Historical Commission Marjorie & Frank O'Brien Brenda Eckstrom, Wareham Board of Selectmen Planning Board Chair 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc Kevin Foster 06/17/2008 04:28 PM EDT To: Patrick Andrus/WASO/NPS@NPS CC: Subject: "Catboat" Gypsy/Witch Nomination Hi Patrick, Enclosed are my comments on the nomination for the wooden sailing yacht Gypsy, which we discusses last week. The nomination is clearly written and makes a good case for listing the boat at the local and state levels of significance. With a bit more context the nomination would also support listing at the national level. If we ever do an NHL study of recreational boating this yacht should be considered for inclusion in the study.
I noted a few errors in the nomination but none that are particularly troubling for listing the boat on the National Register. I suggest adding a note to the documentation that includes the following comments: The architect (naval) is listed on the form, but the builder was omitted. A.C. Howland should be added to that section. My unanswered question is the original name of the boat. As the previous names are not certain it may be best to list the boat as Gypsy, and add some sort of specific note that boat is probably the Witch, b) Wren, c) Gypsy. I would suggest what ever is the best format to allow the search function to turn up these other names. I have a reservation about the designation of this boat as a "catboat." A "catboat" in American small craft usage has a meaning specific to a particular rig, and a small range of hull designs that carried that rig. According to McEwen, W.A.
& A.H. Lewis, Encyclopedia of Nautical Knowledge, Cambridge, MD: Cornell Maritime Press, 1953, p. 75, a catboat is a sailboat with a single fore-and-aft sail set from gaff and a boom, with the mast stepped well forward. De Kerchove, Rene, International Maritime Dictionary, Second edition, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1961, defines a catboat as a centerboard sailing boat characterized by a single sail, no jib, a small length-to-breadth ratio (they were quite wide), a bow with a great deal of freeboard, and a large cockpit. The mast is "a very stout stick" with no shrouds, set right forward in the bow. Gypsy has not had a catboat rig since she acquired the marconi rig, moved the mast (about 7-8 feet) aft, and later extended the rig by adding a genoa sail and a short bowsprit from which it could be set. The changes in rig made her a sloop, i.e.
a shoal draft, broad beamed, centerboard-carrying, single-masted sailboat. That said, historically yacht owners and some of the people who marketed them were often rather loose in their use of correct maritime nomenclature (it is not jargon). It should also be noted that the rig change played a significant role in the continued use of the boat in racing and happened during the period of significance. My question is should the nomination include "catboat" as the descriptor: I might suggest "sailing yacht" instead. It may also be useful to you to sum up my impression of the changes to the boat over time. During the period of significancethe boat was generally maintained by replacement of materials using traditional methods and materials, such as the renewal of the centerboard and centerboard trunk.
Other changes allowed the boat to continue to compete in racing and include the entirely new rig (mast moved aft about a quarter of the length, new mast, new boom, new style rudder, the original mast step removed and a new mast tabernacle fitted, structural strengthening of the new mast area, and the addition of a bowsprit). Some of the modern changes including additional structural strengthening, a new style of transom planking, and a new hatch fall outside of the period of significance but are of the same sort of change intended to allow an old boat to continue the rigorous activity for which it had been built. So even though changed,the boat preservesagreat dealof historic integrityand is an extremely rare survivor of thousands of recreational racing yachts once common on American coasts. List this puppy!
One other tiny note, the name of the four masted schooner in Wiscasset, Maine alongside the Luther Little is Hesper, not Hester. (section 8, p. 2) If I don't mention it some "down-easter" will. Kevin J. Foster Chief, National Maritime Heritage Program History Division National Park Service 1849 C Street, NW; (2280) Washington, DC 20240-0001 (202) 354-2260 fax (202) 371-2229
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