Elmer S. Dailey

Elmer S. Dailey

1973 image of the three barges; Elmer S. Dailey is the rightmost
History
Owner	Steward J. Dailey
Operator	S. J. Dailey Company
Route	Connecticut–Long Island Sound
Builder	William H. Follette
Completed	1915
Out of service	1974
Fate	Sunk in 1974
General characteristics
Type	Canal barge
Tonnage	101
Length	105.2 feet (32.1 m)
Beam	17.9 feet (5.5 m)
Depth of hold	9.9 feet (3.0 m)
Propulsion	Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines
Elmer S. Dailey
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Connecticut Show map of the United States
Location	Bridgeport Harbor, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°10′42″N 73°11′14″W / 41.17833°N 73.18722°W / 41.17833; -73.18722
Area	less than one acre
Built	1935
Architect	Follette, William H.
NRHP reference No.	78002837[1]
Added to NRHP	December 21, 1978

Elmer S. Dailey, originally known as the Claire B. Follette, is a wooden barge built by William H. Follette in 1915 at Tonawanda, New York, and rebuilt and renamed in 1928 by Brown Drydock on Staten Island, New York. It was used to transport materials from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It is the only known surviving Erie Canal boat and is one of a few remaining wooden-hulled canal boats. It sank in 1974 along with the Priscilla Dailey and the Berkshire No. 7 in the harbor of Bridgeport, Connecticut on the west side of the Pequonnock River. It has deteriorated to the point that a salvage operation could result in it breaking apart. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 21, 1978.