{"nrhp_refnum":"08000533","name":"WITCH (catboat)","other_names":["GYPSY, Crowninshield Design #149, WREN"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"35 Lydia Island Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wareham","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.73695333400008,"lon":-70.66082119799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-06-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wooden catboat built in the winter of 1900-01 at the A.C. Howland Co. boatyard in Monument Beach, Bourne, Massachusetts, to B. B. Crowninshield's Design #149. It is now named Gypsy and is kept on Lydia Island in Wareham, Plymouth County.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the boat is significant under Criterion A for its link to the social history of recreational sailing and racing, shaped by the growth of Cape Cod summer communities. Under Criterion C, it is a representative catboat and one-design yacht by a master designer, with an adaptation to the Marconi rig around 1939-45. It may be the oldest surviving Crowninshield design and is among the oldest actively sailed yachts in the United States.","narrative":"Built in the winter of 1900-01 at the A.C. Howland boatyard in Monument Beach, this wooden catboat was one of four sister boats made to Crowninshield Design #149 by naval architect B. B. Crowninshield. Originally named Witch and now called Gypsy, it has a white cedar hull on white oak frames, a centerboard, a spoon bow and long overhangs shaped by the racing rules of its day. Its first owners, the Howes family, raced it informally against the other three boats during summers on Bass River, Cape Cod, and a family diary records those contests. A conversion from gaff rig to Marconi rig around 1939-45 kept it competitive. Later repairs and strengthening have left roughly 30-40% of the original material, including the keel and bronze deck fittings. It was listed for its association with recreational sailing history and as a representative work of a noted designer. It may be the oldest surviving Crowninshield design, and it has remained in family recreational use for over a century.","period_of_significance":"1901-1958","architect_builder":"Bowdoin Bradlee (B.B.) Crowninshield; built by A.C. Howland & Co., Monument Beach","architectural_style":"Catboat","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Structurally in fair condition and cosmetically in good condition per a 2004 report; sailed on Buzzards Bay every summer but two from 1949 through 2007 and stored in a boathouse in the off-season. About 30-40% of original material remains.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.661094-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7966/63796632/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/08000533.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000533/e4a4460799-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000533/e4a4460799-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WarehamMA_WitchCatboat_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WarehamMA_WitchCatboat_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796632","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy_(catboat)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16975370"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/witch-catboat-08000533/"}