The Eleanor

The original Eleanor was one of several vessels owned by leading Boston merchant, smuggler, and Boston Board of Selectman, John Rowe. His holdings included stores, warehouses and Rowe’s Wharf, a current Boston landmark. Rowe was an active smuggler and inciter in the years preceding the American Revolution
. He was influential in protesting British authority, specifically Britain’s tightening restrictions on colonial trade. John Rowe is credited for being one of the leading instigators of the Stamp Act riot in August 1765. During the riot, the mob destroyed the mansion of Thomas Hutchinson, the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice of Massachusetts. At the time of the Boston Tea Party, Captain Bruce, a Tory sympathizer, commanded the Eleanor, and her homeport was the city of Boston. The Eleanor, with her cargo of 114 chests of British East India Company tea, arrived at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston on Thursday, December 2, 1773 – fourteen days prior to the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party.

The Origins of the Eleanor

No original plans exist of the Eleanor. However, it is known from her tonnage figure, as recorded in shipping papers, as “ship rigged” and a “constant trader.” The design of the replica Eleanor is based on colonial merchant vessels of the period which fit her description, particularly the London. The London carried part of the same shipment of British East India Company tea to Charleston, South Carolina. The London was later sold to the Royal Navy. Carefully measured line drawings were recorded and preserved which were very helpful in creating a set of plans for the replica Eleanor. Due to John Rowe’s wealth, we can assume the Eleanor was finely finished and not plain like the Quaker owned Beaver and Dartmouth. Therefore, we may assume the Eleanor might have had quarter galleries, a figurehead, and a full-headed rig.