The Final Salvage: Characterizing and Evaluating Wooden Shipwreck Degradation in Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary
Join us for a special presentation from maritime archaeologist and former Dr. Nancy Foster scholar, Allyson Ropp, on her dissertation research of the Mallows Bay Ghost Fleet.
In 1932, the remnants of over 100 United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation wooden steamship hulls were abandoned to the elements in Mallows Bay. Once active contributors to America’s coastal trade, they found more use as salvageable structures for future construction. But, 1932 was not their final salvage. Throughout their construction and life at sea, breakdown occurred. This breakdown has continued to today and will continue into the future. This breakdown and degradation is not only cultural, relying on humans to dismantle and alter the hull, but it is also natural, driven by complex interactions within the surrounding ecosystem.
In this presentation, we will explore the life and degradation of one of these Emergency Fleet Corporation hulls embedded in the mud of Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. Using the exposed remnants of Aowa, we will track the vessel’s construction and use life, uncovering periods of damage and degradation, before moving into its abandonment in the bay, tracing its relationships with the surrounding ecosystem and the implications of these relationships for its future.
When: Monday, November 9th from 6:00pm – 7:00pm ET
Where: Nanjemoy Community Center (4375 Port Tobacco Rd, Nanjemoy, MD 20662)
