Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
PS3269 |
Collection |
Small Photograph Collection |
Title |
Fired the Fourth |
Date |
July 1977 |
Year Range from |
1950 |
Year Range to |
2000 |
Description |
Frank Wilson and Paul Rawlins stand next to an 18th-century British cannon salvaged in a 1954 dredging of the Piscataqua River and now seen restored on deck of the Pier II restaurant on Walker's Wharf at foot of State Street, Portsmouth, NH. According to the July 6, 1977-article in the Portsmouth Herald that featured this photograph, Wilson was the general manager of Pier II, and Rawlins (or possibly Jim Rollins according to handwriting en verso photograph) was the builder of the carriage rig for the cannon. The cannon was rescued by Garland Patch Sr. and his son, Garland Patch Jr., who was the former Pier II owner and father-in-law to Wilson. After the 1954 dredging, the gun was found in the Zeidman junkyard. The Patch family bought it and painstakingly cleaned it. They researched the history of the cannon identifying it as from a British vessel and dated from 1760 to 1790, and it weighed 735 lbs. with a 4 lb. shot. The cannon was first used to celebrate the Fourth of July in 1977, and it remains with the family. Possibly this was the same one used by antique dealer Charles "Cappy" H. Stewart who fired it off when ships arrived in port during the early 20th century. Today, the Pier II restaurant site is a brick condo building. |
Photographer |
Portsmouth Herald |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Print size |
10" x 8" |
Search Terms |
State Street Walker's Wharf (State Street) Memorial Bridge Pier II Restaurant |
Subjects |
Streetscapes Restaurants Bridges Cannons Colonial Americas, 1492-1850 British Army Young men Waterfronts Piers & wharves |
People |
Wilson family Wilson, Frank, 1947-2021 Patch family Rawlins family Rawlins, Paul, dfl. 1976 Patch, Garland William, 1924-1996 |