Burlington Bay Horse Ferry
Horse-Powered Ferry · United States · Lost Sank or was abandoned sometime after horse ferries fell out of use in the mid-19th century; exact date unknown · Lake Champlain
The only known surviving horse-powered turntable ferry in the country, discovered by sonar in Burlington Bay in 1983.
Stephen Trala Bailey
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
This horse-powered team-boat ferried people and goods across Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York, a common type in the 1830s and 1840s before steam power took over. Its true name and exact date of loss were never recorded. Discovered by side-scan sonar in 1983 and studied through the 1990s, it remains the only known intact example of its kind and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Vessel
- 1830
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- 62 ft
- 15 ft
- Not established
- Horse-powered paddlewheel
- Not established
Loss
- Sank or was abandoned sometime after horse ferries fell out of use in the mid-19th century; exact date unknown
- Not established
- Burlington Bay, Lake Champlain
- Lake Champlain
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 50 ft
- Forward third of the hull missing; double-ended wooden hull with turntable mechanism, iron hubs, and oak spokes largely intact.
- Not established
- 1983
- National Register of Historic Places (1993); Vermont Underwater Historic Preserve
Position
- 44.485° N 73.243° W
- Surveyed position
- Burlington, Vermont
Location marked by buoys and documented in National Register nomination.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)
The vessel's original name and the exact date and circumstances of its loss are not established in the sources reviewed.
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Vessel type, dimensions, discovery, and preservation status.
National Register of Historic Places
Listing, coordinates, and construction date.
