The Maritime Heritage Project - 16 Years
Sailing into Port
The Maritime Heritage Project is in honor of James H. Blethen, a sea captain based in San Francisco during the mid-1800s. Along with thousands of other ship commanders, Captain Blethen sailed into the Port of San Francisco with gold seekers and business opportunists from cities around the world.
Sea captains are committed to protecting shorelines and move merchandise, livestock, and people under unpredictable and often dangerous conditions in vessels of all sizes. Here are stories of life on the high seas.
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Along San Francisco's Waterfront |
The site started with passenger lists of immigrants sailing into San Francisco during the 1800s and is ever-expanding with world seaport news from the 1800s. Quality historical images have been added to illustrate the events of the day; many are available for purchase by clicking on links. Passenger lists and interesting stories are added as they are located.
New entries:
- May 1, 1852: Arrival of the SS Winfield Scott
- February 1850: Rents and Real Estate in San Francisco
- February 15, 1898: The SS Clara Nevada Wrecks (with a surprising discovery years later)
- An Overview of steamships of the 1800s
- Mapmakers: Aaron Arrowsmith and David H. Burr
- March 15, 1849: The California Gold Song
- The Creesy's and extreme clipper Flying Cloud
- Cholera on the SS Golden Gate, August 1852
- June 1852: The Alleghanians perform at the soon-to-be sold Jenny Lind!
- The Deep Sea Derby of 1853
- April 23, 1855: The Crook Meiggs turns up in Chile!
- Amusements in San Francisco, 1860s
- Nathaniel Webber: A Man of the Sea (53 page PDF by Gina Simmons)
- San Francisco's First Entertainer: Stephen Massett
- January 10: Whiskey, Gold Dust and Dissipation
- Ports 'o Call: The Maldives
- Malta, 1892: Captain Edward L. Wakeman
- The plight of the Finns in the late 1800s
- Shoemaker Needs Whole Ship
- The Deed for Benicia City from M.G. Vallejo
