AH-WR-1757

Olive Thurlow

Barkentine · Lost 1902 · The Outer Banks

Olive Thurlow broke up in Cape Lookout Bight during a December 1902 storm; lifesavers rescued her surviving crew.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Olive Thurlow was built at Calais, Maine, in 1876 as a 577-ton bark (or barque) and later converted to a barkentine by Pendleton Bros. Co. Her logbook documents coastal and overseas cargo service out of Philadelphia. Carrying yellow pine lumber from Charleston to New York, she sought shelter in Cape Lookout Bight; her injured captain was taken ashore before the storm intensified. On December 5, 1902, she dragged anchor, stranded and broke up during a rescue attempt. Steward John Chalky was killed by falling masts; five crewmen reached the surf on the cabin roof and were pulled to safety.

Vessel

Built: 1876
Builder: Not established
Yard: Calais, Maine
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 577 tons burden
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Originally James E. Brett; later Pendleton Bros. Co.

Loss

Date: December 5, 1902
Cause: Grounding
Location: Cape Lookout Bight, two miles northeast of the Cape Lookout Life-Saving Station
Water: Cape Lookout Bight
Voyage: Charleston, South Carolina → New York City
Cargo: Yellow pine lumber
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 1
Master: Jerry O. Hayes

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Cape Lookout, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

Exact wreck position, present depth and surviving condition are not established in the reviewed sources.

National Park Service — Cape Lookout National Seashore, Wreck of the Olive Thurlow
Barkentine form and three-masted rig; 577 tons; final voyage, cargo, captain injury and evacuation; December 3 anchoring distinct from December 5 stranding and completed breakup; steward death, five men rescued, crew letter, anchor display.
East Carolina University — Barkentine Olive Thurlow Purser’s Log, Collection #1220
1876 construction and launch at Calais, 577 tons burden, original bark rig and later barkentine conversion, Brett and Pendleton ownership, Philadelphia operations and coastal/overseas ports; corroborated December 1902 loss and six of seven crew members saved.