YACHT WAIONTHA BURNED

Catches Fire on Connecticut River and Is Run Aground

MIDDLETOWN, Conn., Aug. 14--The steam yacht Waiontha of Hartford caught fire to-day while going down the Connecticut River, and now lies a blackened wreck on Sears Shoal, six or seven miles below this city. Her crew escaped in a small boat after running the burning yacht aground. It is understood here that the fire caught in the engine room and spread so quickly that it was impossible to save the boat.

The Waiontha was bound from Hartford for Greenport,L. I. She was 103 feet long and 15 feet wide, and was built in 1880 for the late E. S. Stokes of New York. She was then called the Fra Diavolo. Of late she has been owned by Hartford people. Two weeks ago, while returning from a Sound resort with a party of excursionists to Hartford the Waiontha burst a boiler flue, and was aground for several hours. It is supposed that she was on her way to Greenport for repairs when she took fire.

The New York Times, New York, NY 15 Aug 1903

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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!