The Curious Case of Steamer City of Rockland: How Citizen Scientists are Helping Investigate Possible 100-year Old Misidentification

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Citizen Science in Maritime Archaeology: The Power of Public Engagement for Heritage Monitoring and Protection" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2018, SEAMAHP along with Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources began investigating the wreck of passenger steamship City of Rockland (1901) working together with citizen scientists, and students from Salem State University. This passenger sidewheeler that ran between Boston and Maine collided three times, sank while tied to a pier and grounded twice before finally being scuttled on Little Misery Island in 1923. There it became a shoreline fixture – or so it was reported. The preliminary archaeological and historical research indicate that the extant remains may be from a contemporary wreck, Monohansset. This paper discusses the reasons for this possible misidentification, and how citizen scientists helped in uncovering new leads and hypotheses. It also highlights how effective partnerships with international and local agencies such the Nautical Archaeological Society (NAS) and the Essex National Heritage Area have provided a sustainable avenue for further citizen science programs.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Citizen Science in Maritime Archaeology: The Power of Public Engagement for Heritage Monitoring and Protection

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 826