In the coastal waters of Maine, one finds many hulks of old ships, and Georgetown is no exception. The hulk of the Mary F. Barrett lies off the east bank and at the north end of Robinhood Cove. She was a 241.3 foot long five-masted schooner,built in Bath, Maine by Gardiner G. Deering in 1901. (29 five-masted schooners were built in Bath between 1898 and 1919.) She was launched in 1901, captained by William Armstrong Fairburn with a crew of ten.
She was used in coastal and deep water trading in the years 1901 to 1927, and during World War I was requisitioned for ferrying supplies to Europe.
Her final voyage was at some time prior to October, 1927. She was to have been sold at auction at the Percy & Small Wharf (current site of the Maine Maritime Museum) in Bath on October 4th, 1927.
The Mary F. Barrett was towed by a steam tug to her final resting place in Robinhood sometime in 1928 or 1929. Her masts of Oregon fir were long gone. The disposition of old schooners constituted a problem. Sunk, they were a hazard to navigation, and nobody wanted them taking up wharf space or beached on their shore. When a Georgetown resident agreed to have the hull towed to his land, he was taken up on the offer, and so the Mary F. Barrett has remained in Robinhood Cove where her remains can be seen today.
Above information and photos provided by John Teller
Page last updated 22October, 2003
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