The five masted schooner Nancy ran aground on Nantasket Beach on February 20, 1927. Osceola James led the Massachusetts Humane Society volunteers in rowing the surfboat Nantasket to rescue one last time, although the Nancy’s crew were in no real danger.

After efforts to remove the vessel proved unsuccessful, the Nancy became a tourist attraction. For several years visitors to the beach were able to purchase tickets to climb aboard. The schooner’s hull was even used as an advertising billboard before eventually being dismantled by a crew from the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Residents gathered to collect the lumber from the ship as she was dismantled. Consequently, pieces of the Nancy are said to remain in Hull as part of cottages and other structures in the town.

Resources:

The Shipwrecks of Boston Harbor
The Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection