The whaleship Niantic brought fortune-seekers to San Francisco (formerly Yerba Buena) in the California Gold Rush of 1849. Run aground and converted into a storeship and hotel, she was a prominent landmark in the booming city for several years. The site of the Niantic beside the Transamerica Pyramid is now a California Historical Landmark. Artifacts excavated in 1978 are on display in the San Francisco Maritime Museum.
1832—Niantic built in Conne...
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The whaleship Niantic brought fortune-seekers to San Francisco (formerly Yerba Buena) in the California Gold Rush of 1849. Run aground and converted into a storeship and hotel, she was a prominent landmark in the booming city for several years. The site of the Niantic beside the Transamerica Pyramid is now a California Historical Landmark. Artifacts excavated in 1978 are on display in the San Francisco Maritime Museum.
1832—Niantic built in Connecticut. Originally intended for trade with China, she was later converted to a sperm whaler. Owners in 1840 appear to have been N. L. and G. Griswold of New York.
1840—Niantic, Captain Doty in command (Captain Robert Bennett Forbes acting), sailed with tea and silk from Port of Canton to an unstated destination (perhaps New York) via Anjer (Anyer), Indonesia, just missing a blockade by the British in Canton as part of the Opium Wars. "Probably this was the last and most profitable voyage of the Niantic as a merchant ship."
1844—Niantic bought...
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