The wreck of the schooner Willis and Guy near Pemaquid (Photo courtesy Old Bristol Historical Society)
Pemaquid Point and the lighthouse are must-see destinations for visitors to Bristol. The lighthouse was and remains an essential tool for navigators. Unfortunately, sometimes it wasn’t enough.
On Aug. 9, 1917, in heavy fog, the two-masted schooner Willis and Guy struck on the rocks near Lighthouse Point. The schooner was built in Belfast and was carrying a cargo of soft coal from Port Reading, N.J. to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
At the time of the wreck the schooner was eight miles off course and this was blamed on the compass being out of adjustment. Unfortunately, the bell at the lighthouse wasn’t enough to save the vessel as the crew heard it ring only moments before grounding.
The crew consisted of Capt. John S. Lowe, of Deer Isle; Mate H. Samuel Clark, of Stoughton; Steward Henry M. Cox, of Malden, Mass.; Henry Whiteman, of New York; and William Adams, of Everett, Mass. Their cries for help were heard by residents of summer cottages nearby who telephoned New Harbor for help. They were successfully rescued.
The vessel broke up in a storm a few days later. It was not insured and represented a $4,000 loss for the owners. The 216 tons of coal was insured. It is said that Bristol residents didn’t have any trouble keeping warm that winter having managed to rescue about 100 tons from the shore.
For more information on this and other fascinating aspects of old Bristol history, go to oldbristolhistoricalsociety.org.
Coal scavenging after the wreck of Willis and Guy. (Photo courtesy Old Bristol Historical Society)
