Emma C. Berry is a fishing sloop located at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, United States, and one of the oldest surviving commercial vessels in America. She is the last known surviving American well smack. This type of boat is also termed a sloop smack or Noank smack. Emma C. Berry was built in 1866 at the Palmer Shipyards in Noank, Connecticut by James A. Latham. Well smacks were designed to keep the catch alive in an internal water-filled compartment known as a wet well. Seawater circulated through large holes in the bottom planking. The Noank design was imitated in other regions of the United States, but well smacks had appeared in England previously in about 1775.
The boat was named for Captain John Henry Berry's daughter. In 1886 Emma C. Berry was rigged as a schooner then in 1916 a gasoline engine was added. She was restored in 1931 to her original condition. Emma C. Berry was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994.
Famous quotes containing the word berry:
“Grandparents who want to be truly helpful will do well to keep their mouths shut and their opinions to themselves until these are requested.”
—T. Berry Brazelton (20th century)