{"nrhp_refnum":"05000526","name":"CLAUD W. SOMERS (skipjack)","other_names":["066-5049"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"504 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reedville","county":"Northumberland County","state":"VA","lat":37.84377702900008,"lon":-76.27621229599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-10-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wooden sail-powered oyster-dredging skipjack built in 1911 by Thomas Young in Clam, Virginia, now docked at the Reedville Fishermen's Museum in Reedville, Northumberland County, Virginia.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of only five remaining working skipjacks in Virginia, from a Chesapeake Bay fleet once numbering 600-700 boats. It is significant under Criterion A for the oyster industry (Commerce) and Criterion C for design and craftsmanship (Engineering). It is described as an outstanding, carefully restored example of the skipjack class built by a builder known for fine work.","narrative":"Built in 1911 by Thomas Young at Clam, Virginia, the Claud W. Somers is a wooden skipjack, a wide, single-masted sailboat designed for dredging oysters in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay. She measures 42 feet 6 inches on deck, carries over eleven hundred square feet of sail, and has no engine, relying on a small push boat when not under sail. Young was known for fine craftsmanship and built her for Edward Thomas Somers, who named her for his son. She won the annual Bay skipjack race in 1931 and again in 1966, and sank in a 1976 gale that killed her captain and crew. After Alfred Lambert's long restoration effort, the Reedville Fishermen's Museum received her and completed a careful restoration that reused original ribs, mast and steering gear. Listed for her role in the oyster industry and her design and construction, she is one of only five working skipjacks remaining in Virginia.","period_of_significance":"1911 - 1955","architect_builder":"Thomas Young","architectural_style":"Other - 20th Century Sail Powered Skipjack","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Restored by museum staff and volunteers after about 2000, using original parts where salvageable; now docked at the Reedville Fishermen's Museum and used for museum purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.87475-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/6823/41682310/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/05000526.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003556","name":"Reedville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/reedville-historic-district-84003556/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682310","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/northumberland-county/claud-w-somers-skipjack-05000526/"}