AH-WR-0446

Sunnyside

Passenger Steamboat · United States · Lost 1875 · Hudson River

A Hudson River night boat torn open by ice and sunk near Hyde Park in the early hours of December 1, 1875, with heavy loss of life.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1866 at Williamsburg, New York, Sunnyside was a sister ship to Sleepy Hollow, initially running lower Hudson passenger service before conversion to a night boat between New York and points upriver. On the icy night of December 1, 1875, river ice tore open her wooden hull near Hyde Park; she sank about 200 feet from shore and a boat-load of passengers trying to escape capsized. Contemporary press reports of the death toll varied, with published figures commonly citing eleven lost. The wreck subsequently broke up in the accumulating ice.

Vessel

Built: 1866
Builder: C.R. Poillon
Yard: Williamsburg, New York
Material: Wood
Length: 247.5 ft
Beam: 35.33 ft
Tonnage: 942
Propulsion: Steam, walking-beam engine (built by S. Secor & Company)
Owners: Joseph Cornell and Captain Black (from 1870); Citizens' Line

Loss

Date: December 1, 1875
Cause: Ice
Location: Hudson River, near Hyde Park, New York
Water: Hudson River
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 11
Master: Captain Teson

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Reported broken up by accumulating ice in the days after sinking
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 41.78° N 73.93° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Hyde Park, New York
Region: Hudson River

General area only: coordinate of Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.