The ‘Eleanor’ - Boston, MA - Exact Replicas on Waymarking.com

The Boston Tea Party, as it has come to be known, was a significant event in Colonial America leading up to the American Revolution. Great Britain had placed a special tax on tea, a popular commodity in the colonies, and one that was already controlled by monopolies. The colonists felt that the tax was unfair since they lacked the same representation that other British citizens had. There was a general consensus among the colonists that they would do without tea rather than pay the tax.

In December of 1773, three ships bearing approximately 92,000 pounds of tea were docked in Boston Harbor. Local citizens refused to allow the tea to be unloaded and the governor of Massachusetts refused to allow the ships to return to England with the tea. By law, the ship’s owners had twenty days to unload the ships and pay the customs duties. On December 16, with the deadline fast approaching, the citizens decided to break the impasse by boarding the ships and throwing all the tea overboard.

According to contemporary accounts, the ‘destruction of the tea’ took place on three ships at Griffin’s Wharf. Griffin’s Wharf no longer exists. Its approximate location is where Boston’s Intercontinental Hotel now stands. The three ships involved with the incident were the ‘Beaver,’ the ‘Dartmouth’ and the ‘Eleanor.’ The ‘Beaver’ and the ‘Dartmouth’ were plain whaling vessels which normally operated out of Nantucket. The ‘Eleanor’ is believed to have been a larger vessel with full rigging, quarter galleries and a figurehead.

All three ships involved in the Boston Tea Party are long gone. The ‘Dartmouth’ was lost the following year off Nantucket Island. The ‘Beaver’ was sold in 1774 and no record exists of her after the sale. And nobody knows what became of the ‘Eleanor.’ Today, at the Boston Tea Party Museum, replicas of both the ‘Eleanor’ and the ‘Beaver’ have been created. The ‘Eleanor’ replica was made from a retired fishing vessel named ‘Uncle Guy.’ Both replicas are relatively recent additions to the museum which contains artifacts from the actual event and carries out re-creations of the incident.

In 1973, the U.S. Postal Service issued stamps to commemorate the bicentennial of the Boston Tea Party. Two ships are visible on the stamps, but they appear to be two different views of the same ship: the ‘Eleanor.’

Where is original located?: destroyed Where is this replica located?: Boston Tea Party Museum, Boston, MA Who created the original?: unknown, owner: John Rowe of Boston Internet Link about Original: https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/eleanor Year Original was Created (approx. ok): before 1773

Visit Instructions:
Post at least one photo of the replica.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   07/24/2023 petendot visited it