Hunting New England Shipwrecks

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Steamer Mayflower in her early days (form old postcard)	Nantasket Beach postcard with Mayflower view	Mayflower painting by William R. Davis

Nantasket Line timetable from 1906	View of Nantasket Beach (from old print)	Old Nantasket postcard showing Steamboat Wharf

Mayflower as the Showboat nightclub	Mayflower as a derelict structure in the late 1970s (photo by author)	Mayflower burned to the ground in November 1979 (Photo by author)

Shipwreck Data
Vessel Name	Mayflower
Other Names
Vessel Type	Coastal Passenger Steamer / Excursion Steamer
Owner	Nantasket Beach Steamboat Company
Length / Beam / Draft (feet)	184' / 32' /
Tonnage	728 GT
Hull Construction	Wood
Propulsion	Steam / Side-Wheels
Cargo
Built	1891 at Chelsea, MA ( Montgomery Howard)
Date of Loss	Autumn 1979
Reason for Loss	Grounded nightclub structure burned to the ground
Fatalities	None
Location	Nantasket Beach, Hull, MA
Coordinates (Lat/Lon)
Coordinates (Loran C)
Water Depth (feet)
Typical Visibility (feet)
Wreck Condition	Burned and completely removed
Diving Considerations
Other Information	The Mayflower provided passenger service between Boston and Nantasket Beach from the 1890s through the 1930s. In the 1940s she was taken out of service, grounded at Nantasket Beach, and converted into a nightclub called the the Showboat. The Showboat operated for many years, but by the 1970s, it had become a derelict and abandoned structure. In the autumn of 1979, it caught fire under unknown circumstances and burned to the ground. The steamers of the Nantasket Beach Steamboat Line were a popular mode of transportation in the early 1900s. They provided quick and easy transportation between Boston and Nantasket Beach, and other destinations around Boston Harbor and the Massachusetts South Shore. On Thanksgiving Day in 1929 (November 28th), the company's six steamers were docked for the winter at Nantasket's Steamboat Wharf (Nantasket Pier). On that day, a large fire broke out and destroyed 5 of the steamers -- the Nantasket, Mary Chilton, Old Colony, Rose Standish and Betty Alden. Only the Mayflower was pulled to safety and survived the fire. For more information on the 1929 Steamboat Wharf fire, click here.