Schooner Excelsior (VT-CH-796) One of the vessels in the Pine
Street Canal Breakwater site has been identified through the
historical record and the preliminary documentation of the
extant remains as the 1850 schooner Excelsior. The October 17,
1885 issue (4:1) of the Burlington Free Press reports that “The
spars of the old schooner Excelsior, which was sunk at the mouth
of the cove [Pine Street Canal] last fall, were removed
yesterday. This was one of the largest schooners that used to
ply on the lake.” Excelsior’s last enrollment papers provide the
following information on the vessel: Permanent Enrollment (P.E.)
No. 4 issued at Burlington on May 20, 1884, which lists Mary A.
Kiernan of Burlington as owner, and Henry Dupee as master. The
vessel (Official Number 8092) was built at Willsboro in 1850.
Her enrollment describes her as having one deck and two masts
and being a schooner-rigged vessel with a moulded bow, plain
head, and a transom moulded stern. Her measurements were: length
87ft (26.5m), breadth 25f