Benjamin F. Packard

A full-rigged ship built in 1883 by Goss, Sawyer & Packard, Bathe, ME, USA. Dimensions 244.2'×43.2'×18.2' and tonnage 2156 GRT and 2013 NRT.

In 1902 the size of her crew was reported as 25.

1883 November 15: Launched at the shipyard of Goss, Sawyer & Packard, Bathe, ME, for the management of Capt. John R. Kelly. Assigned the United States Official No. 3270 and Signal Letters KBVT.
1887: Sold to Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, ME. The new master was Captain Clarendon W. Jackson.
1889: The command was taken over by Captain Zacceus Allen who also bought 1/8 share of the ship from the owners for $ 10.000.
1896 January: As Captain Allen had to remain in San Francisco to testify at the legal proceedings the command was handed over to Captain Charles H. MacLoon.
1896: The command was handed over to Captain John W. Dickinson.
1897 March 8: Arrieved at Honolulu from Kobe after a passage of 27 days. Command of the ship was returned to Capt. Allen.
1904 July: The master Captain Allen was replaced by Captain Henry H. St. Clair.
1908 May 6: Arrived at Bremerton, WA, were she was laid up.
1908 May 16: Capt. St. Clair was replaced by Captain W.H. Curtis in Bremerton, WA.
1909 January 6: Sold to Northwestern Fisheries Co., Seattle, WA, for $ 25.000 but was registered at Port Townsend, WA, and was put in the slamon packing business.
1925: Sold to Hansen & Nieder Lumber Co., Seattle, WA.
1925 November: Sold to Theodore Roosevelt Pell for $ 12.000.
1925: Sold to Max Williams for a reportedly $ 5,000.
1925: Handed over to the United States Junior Naval Reserve to be used as a training ship during a period of one year.
1926: Moved to Manhasset Bay, Long Island,
1929 December 4: Sold at auction to Flayderman and Kaufman for $ 1000.
1930: Sold to a syndicate headed by the Swedish Count Hans Georg Mörner and his brother Gösta Mörner which intended to use the ship as an attraction at an amusement park at Rye Beach, NY, to be called "Playland Park". The ship was susequently re-rigged by Karl "Charly" Müller, the bosun of Count Felix von Luckner's schooner Mopelia.
1939: Broken up by Merritt, Chapman & Scott Co.
1939 May 18: Stripped of anything of value the hull was sunk at the Long Island Sound.

Part of the cabin is preserved and exhibited at the Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT.

References:

Square-rigged ships, general references.
Bragdon, Roger Weare: Down-easter. Building a model of the Benjamin F. Packard.
Falmouth Pub. House, Manchester, ME, 1954. +8vo, 110 pp, ill.
Douglas, George Bruce & McKay, Richard H.: Ship model book. How to build and rig model ships, with a special set of full-sized patterns for the famous ship Benj. F. Packard.
Rudder Pub. Co., New York City, NY, 1926. 4to, 47, [1] pp, ill.
Morris, Paul C.: A Portrait of a Ship the Benj. F. Packard.
Lower Cape Publishing, Orleans, MA, 1987. 4to, xii, 188 pp, ill.

Updated 1999-07-02 by Lars Bruzelius

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