Many divers know that the remains of a vessel are to be found beneath the dock at the base of Beacon Rock in Brenton Cove, Newport. Although the vessel is commonly misidentified, this is the brig BESSIE ROGERS. The ship reportedly was anchored near Goat Island with a load of scrap metal when the steamer BRISTOL ran her down in 1872. Her cargo was salvaged and Commodore E. D. Morgan, the owner of the Beacon Rock estate, bought the vessel for use as a landing and boathouse.
The BESSIE ROGERS sank at the dock (lower left corner of the photo) in a 1914 winter storm and her skeleton remains in about 10 feet of water today. Some of the frames and planking of the vessel are visible from the surface on a windless day. The wreck is more than 100 feet long and a modern dock is built over it approximately amidships. The dock is privately owned and now is used as a boat landing. Divers visiting this site should exercise extreme caution when swimming near the BESSIE ROGERS.
RIMAP has completed a site map of the BESSIE ROGERS but, given the history of the vessel and the common practice of divers artifact hunting in and around Brenton Cove, we have not excavated the site. If you have further information about the BESSIE ROGERS, please contact the RIMAP office.