AH-WR-1130

Harry P. Knowlton

Schooner · United States · Lost 1907 · Narragansett Bay & the Rhode Island Coast

The coal schooner that rammed and sank the steamer Larchmont in a 1907 blizzard off Watch Hill, one of Rhode Island's deadliest maritime disasters.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The four-masted schooner Harry P. Knowlton, freed from ice in the Hudson River and pressing to make up lost time, was under full sail in Block Island Sound on the night of 11 February 1907 when she struck the passenger steamer Larchmont amidships during a fierce winter gale. The collision tore open the Larchmont's hull, and both vessels were destroyed; the Larchmont sank quickly with roughly 150 people aboard, most of whom died of drowning or exposure in the freezing seas. The disaster became known as one of the worst in Rhode Island's maritime history.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 128 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 317
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: February 11, 1907
Cause: Collision
Location: Block Island Sound, about 2-3 miles off Watch Hill, Rhode Island
Water: Block Island Sound
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Coal
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Crew casualties on the Knowlton herself are not clearly established in the sources reviewed; the disaster's roughly 150 deaths were overwhelmingly aboard the Larchmont.
Master: Not established