Summary
Workers found a Revolutionary War-era boat buried at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan. The New York State Museum is now rebuilding this boat from over 600 pieces. The team is putting the pieces together so visitors can watch the process and learn about its history, although some details about its past remain unclear.
Key Facts
- Workers found the boat buried 22 feet underground at the World Trade Center site in 2010.
- The boat is about 50 feet long and was built during the Revolutionary War, around 1775.
- Researchers believe the boat was a gunboat used to defend Philadelphia, but details about its journeys and abandonment are unknown.
- The recovered pieces were sent to Texas A&M for preservation and three-dimensional scanning before being moved to the New York State Museum.
- The museum is located 130 miles up the Hudson River from Manhattan and has enough space for the reconstruction.
- The reconstruction takes place on the museum floor, allowing visitors to see the process.
- The project is expected to finish by the end of the month.
- The boat’s wood came from trees cut in the Philadelphia area in the early 1770s.
