Whaleship
Charles W. Morgan
Built: 1841
Hillman Bros. Shipyard
New Bedford, Martin
Length: 105' 6"
Beam: 27' 7"
Depth: 17' 6"
As the last surviving American wooden whaleship, and the oldest American merchant ship afloat, the Charles W. Morgan is unique today. When she was launched in 1841, the Morgan was one of more than 600 American whaleships that hunted whales to supply the world's need for oil for lubrication and illumination. Named for her original owner, wahing merchant Charles W. Morgan of new Bedford, Massachusetts, the vessel made 37 voyages during an 80-year career.
Hunting primarily in the Pacific Ocean, the Morgan often spent three to five years finding the fifty of more whales needed to fill her hold with barrels of oil. To shorten voyages, the Morgan was berthed at San Francisco from 1887 to 1904. A crew of 30 to 36 men was needed to row the six-man whaleboats used to hunt and capture whales, and then to render oil from the blubber in a brick tryworks on deck. These crews were among the most diverse at sea, mixing Americans, Europeans, West Indians, Azoreans, Cape Verdeans, Polynesians, and Asians. They received a small share of the profits for their years of tedium and toil.
After her retirement in1921, the Morgan was preserved as an exhibit near New Bedford before coming to Mystic Seaport in 1941. She was named a National Historic Landmark in 1967 and since 1973 has been exhibited afloat here, restored to look much as she did around 1905.
ID# 1941.761
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