Thomas Dickason shipwreck

Nature of Casualty

Abandoned after trapped in ice. In 1872, vessel found 2 miles North of Wainwright Inlet with water flowing in and out of her. Tornfelt, Evert E., Burwell, Michael, Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore, U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, 1992

The Bringhampton Republican publishes the following private letter from Capt. William H. Kelley, of the that city, who was Captain of one the fleet of whalers deserted in the ice Point Belcher a year ago, and is again in the Arctic in command of a vessel: The Thomas Dickinson lies on her beams end, on the bank, bilged and full of water. I don't know whether they will get her off or not. New York Times 10-31-1872

1872: The Thomas Dickason was hard ashore, high and dry with 800 barrels of oil in her hold, and the Kohola was completely crushed. Bockstoce, John R., Whales, Ice, and Men: The History of Whaling in the Western Arctic, University of Washington Press, Seattle Washington, 1986:163

Official Number: 24259

Type: Bark (Formerly Ship-rigged)

Length: 118 Feet

Home Port: New Bedford, MA

Place Built: New Bedford, MA

Date Lost: Sept, 14, 1871

Captain When Lost: Valentine Lewis

Where: Point Belcher, 2 Miles North of Wainwright Inlet

Cause: Trapped in Ice

Cargo: 800 Barrels of Whale Oil