Violet, 1871
Any of various low-growing plants of the genus Viola, bearing spurred, irregular flowers that are purplish-blue and occasionally yellow or white.
Builder: Elizabethport, Staten Island, New York
Length: 107'
Beam: 21' 6"
Draft: 4' 2"
Displacement: 231 tons
Cost: $16,827
Commissioned: 1871
Decommissioned: 1910?
Disposition: Sold, 1910
Machinery: Steam engine; coal-fired boiler; 400 IHP; side paddle wheels
Performance & Endurance:
Max:
Cruising:
Deck Gear:
Complement: 21
Armament: None
Tender History:
Violet was originally built in 1864 as the 107-foot steamer Martha Washington. She was purchased in 1870 in New York and was converted for use as a tender. She entered service in 1871 under the name Violet and was assigned to duty in the 4th Lighthouse District. She was overhauled in 1877 and again in 1886. During the latter overhaul her hull was lengthened to 143-feet. She was then transferred to the 5th Lighthouse District where she served as an inspection tender.
She was sold in 1910 and became the privately-owned steamboat Charles H. Werner.
Sources:
Douglas Peterson. United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.