http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Detail.aspx?assetId=5002
Northern Liberties Market & Co. Pier 21
Phila. Rancocas & Mt. Holly Trans. Co.
Steamer
Annie L. Vanschiver
at Centreton N.J. - circa 1907
Centreton Bridge (Swing Open Bridge) at Rancocas Creek, Burlington County, NJ
Samoset (American Ferry Steamship, 1897)
Photographed prior to her World War I Naval
Service, with the ferry steamer Norumbega tied up astern. Both
belonged to the Maine Central Railroad Company.
Formerly named Annie L. Vansciver, this ship was acquired by the
Navy on 20 March 1918 and subsequently served as USS Samoset (ID
# 2000). She was sold on 16 June 1922.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Annie L. Vansciver,
a 294 gross ton ferry steamship, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in
1897 for commercial service. Later renamed Samoset, she was
purchased by the Navy in March 1918 and placed in service under that name. During
the remaining months of World War I she transported personnel and cargo around
Boston harbor. The vessel was transferred to New York harbor duty following the
conflict's end and remained active there until March 1922. USS Samoset was
sold in June 1922. She subsequently had civilian employment until about 1934.
Depending on where you live, a trip from the Inner
Banks to the Outer Banks takes between 30 and 90 minutes - today.
At the start of the last century, when there were no
bridges to speed the trip, it took about four hours.
Passengers could take the trip on the Annie L.,
officially the Annie L. Vansciver, named after a prominent family in New
Jersey.
Today, you can take a look at a miniature of the
Annie L. and learn about it at the Museum of the Albemarle, where another
nautical exhibit is on display telling the story of the battleship North
Carolina.
Before the Annie L. plied the Albemarle region, it
was used for commercial service and then acquired by the Navy during World War
I and renamed the Samoset. Later it was used to transport freight and personnel
in Boston Harbor. Its next harbor home was New York City.
According to museum literature, the craft headed
south in the 1920s, homeported in Jarvisburg after its acquisition by the North
River Line. Its original name was restored.
Its owners were a group of Camden and Currituck
County farmers and businessmen who recognized the need for its services and
recognized the possibilities of profit.
The steamer had several staterooms, and separate
salons, bathrooms and eating quarters for whites and blacks.
The Annie L.'s freight deck could hold as many as
1,700 barrels of produce, but it is best remembered for its Sunday passenger
service. Passengers paid $1.75 for a one-way trip, which began at 8 a.m. in
Elizabeth City.
In 1930, the Wright Memorial Bridge was opened to
traffic, a death knell for the Annie L., which made its final trip in 1934. It
was moved to Norfolk and Mobjack, Va., and converted into a fishing vessel.
"The ultimate fate of the vessel is
unknown," according to the museum.
