Nor'easter Uncovers 19th-Century Shipwreck on Nantucket Coast

A powerful nor'easter churning along the East Coast has uncovered the remnants of a 19th-century shipwreck on Nantucket Island. Strong waves dislodged a waterlogged section of timber, held together by rusted nails and seaweed, from beneath the sand on the island's south shore.

The discovered debris is believed to be from the Warren Sawyer, a schooner that wrecked on Miacomet Beach on December 22, 1884, while en route to New Orleans. The ship was carrying cotton and scrap iron when it was caught in gale-force winds and lost its course.

This is not the first time parts of the Warren Sawyer have surfaced. Additional fragments of the shipwreck were uncovered in the same area in December 2022. Following months of research, scientists concluded that those pieces most likely belonged to the Warren Sawyer, though initial determinations faced some inconsistencies with historical records regarding fastening hardware.

"As with most historical archaeological research, exploring the available literature, archival, photographic, and archaeological evidence we collectively assembled for the site to try to arrive at a conclusive determination as to whether or not the wreckage is from the tern, Warren Sawyer, was a bit like pulling a thread on a sweater," Massachusetts Archeologist David Robinson told the Nantucket Current. "The more interesting information I looked at, the more that I found."

The storm that revealed the shipwreck also caused significant erosion to Nantucket's beaches. The rare September nor'easter impacted a wide swath of the eastern seaboard, extending from Massachusetts down through Long Island, New York City, New Jersey, and Delaware.

The severe weather left hundreds of thousands without power across multiple states, with over 27,600 customers in New York and 26,000 in Connecticut losing electricity by Sunday morning. Massachusetts reported 11,500 customers without power.

The storm also resulted in fatalities and disappearances. A New York City Housing Authority worker, 56-year-old Leighton Brown, was killed by a fallen tree in Brooklyn. Separately, New York State Police reported an unidentified swimmer missing off the coast of Long Island's Robert Moses State Park on Saturday afternoon.