The Capitol City Shipwreck
New York and New England's (Wreck Valley)
Historical and current New York and New England Shipwreck Information and images for scuba
divers and fisherman.
CAPITOL CITY
The Capitol City was a side wheel steamer built in 1852. She was 259
feet long had a 33 foot beam and displaced 1,306 tons. On March 31
1886 while sailing in a heavy fog the Capitol City ran aground on
Rye Beach. Captain J. Russell was navigating with a compass at the
time and thought they were two miles clear from shore. No one
dreamed of Passengers Rock until the steamboat was on it. According
to the New York Times "The steamboat filled with water so rapidly
that it seemed as though half the 4 inch planks on the flat bottom
had been torn away."
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