View source for American Eagle (schooner)

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''American Eagle'' (schooner)}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = ''American Eagle'' (Schooner)
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = American Eagle NHL.jpg
| caption = 
| location = Rockland Harbor, [[Rockland, Maine]]
| coordinates = {{coord|44|6|41.33|N|69|6|11.64|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Maine#USA
| area =
| built = 1930
| architect = United Sail Loft Co.
| architecture =
| designated_nrhp_type = December 4, 1992<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2129&ResourceType=Structure|title=National Historic Landmarks Program - AMERICAN EAGLE |accessdate=2007-10-13|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
| added = December 4, 1991<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum=91002064
}}

The '''''American Eagle''''', originally '''''Andrew and Rosalie''''', is a two-masted [[schooner]] serving the tourist trade out of [[Rockland, Maine]].  Launched in 1930 at [[Gloucester, Massachusetts]], she was the last auxiliary schooner (powered by both sail and engine) to be built in that port, and one of Gloucester's last sail-powered fishing vessels.  A [[National Historic Landmark]], she is also the oldest known surviving vessel of the type, which was supplanted not long afterward by modern [[fishing trawler|trawlers]].

==History==
''Andrew and Rosalie'' was built in 1930 by the United Sail Loft Company in Gloucester, for Patrick Murphy, a local fishing master, and was named for his children.  The ship was used in fishing operations by his family until 1941, when it was sold to the Empire Fish Company, who renamed her ''American Eagle''.  They converted her for use as a trawler, a role she served, mainly under the ownership of the Piscitello brothers, until 1983.<ref name="nrhpinv2" />

She was purchased in 1984 by John Foss, who had recently restored the ''[[Lewis R. French (schooner)|Lewis R. French]]'' (also a National Historic Landmark), and was restored at the North End Shipyard at [[Rockland, Maine]].  Foss rebuilt her for the cruise ship trade, and she now spends summers cruising [[Penobscot Bay]] in Maine on 3-7 day cruises, though she generally takes one longer cruise per year to places like [[Grand Manan Island]] in Canada. She is one of the few schooners in Maine that go on longer cruises, and one of the few that go offshore looking for whales. She also generally returns to Gloucester every year.

''American Eagle'' was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1991, and was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1992.  She is the sole surviving representative of the transitional period between traditional sail-powered fishing vessels and more modern trawlers, having been built about the same time as the ''[[Gertrude L. Thebaud]]'', a sailing schooner.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nris"/><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{cite web |title=Maritime Heritage of the United States NHL Theme Study--Large Vessels: American Eagle / Two-masted schooner American Eagle |url={{NHLS url|id=91002064}} |format=pdf |date=October 31, 1990 |first=James P. |last=Delgado |authorlink=James P. Delgado |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |accessdate=2012-08-22}} and {{cite web |title=Accompanying 4 photos, exterior and interior, from 1988, 1989, and 1990 |url={{NHLS url|id=91002064|photos=y}} |format=pdf |date=October 31, 1990 |first=James P. |last=Delgado |authorlink=James P. Delgado |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |accessdate=2012-08-22}}</ref>

The historic ship ran aground August 3, 2016 in Somes Sound, [[Mount Desert, Maine]] during a windjammer regatta. 25 passengers were evacuated with the crew remaining aboard to await high tide to refloat the ship.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.pressherald.com/2016/08/03/historic-schooner-runs-aground-off-mount-deset-during-windjammer-regatta/ |title= Historic schooner runs aground off Mount Desert during regatta |newspaper=Press Herald |date= August 3, 2016}}</ref>

==Description==
''American Eagle'' is a single-deck two-masted [[schooner]], measuring {{convert|76.4|ft|m}} in length between the perpendiculars, and a total length of {{convert|90|ft|m}}.  Her beam is {{convert|19.3|ft|m}}, and her hold depth is {{convert|10|ft|m}}.  She is registered at 70 gross tons and 47 net tons, displacing 118 tons.  The frame and planking are oak, the ceiling is fir, and the decking is pine. She currently has a schooner rigging, although she did not for much of her fishing career.  The hold has been fitted with fourteen double-occupancy passenger cabins.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>

==See also==
* [[List of schooners]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Maine]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.schooneramericaneagle.com/ Schooner American Eagle]

{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{2016 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Maine]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Knox County, Maine]]
[[Category:Rockland, Maine]]
[[Category:Schooners of the United States]]
[[Category:Tall ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Windjammers]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine]]
[[Category:1930 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Gloucester, Massachusetts]]