SAN FRANCISCO — About 100 people gathered in the Maritime Museum on San Francisco's famed Fisherman's Wharf on July 29 to celebrate the landing of the ship Brooklyn near that spot 160 years ago. They spent the day discussing the impact of the Mormon pioneers who made the voyage.
Although the museum is closed for a three-year restoration project, its directors opened the doors for the Ship Brooklyn Association, whose members are descendants of or have an interest in the Brooklyn passengers. The Maritime Museum featured an exhibit 10 years ago about the ship and its passengers, the first group of immigrants to arrive in California by sea.
Attendees learned that the Church recently acquired the original oil painting of the Brooklyn, attributed to artist Duncan McFarlane, and a replica was on display. After years in a museum, the painting was sold and lost to the public. Lorin Hansen, Fremont, Calif., historian and co-author of Let This Be Zion, located it after years of searching.
The ship Brooklyn left New York City on Feb. 4, 1846, and arrived in San Francisco Bay after an arduous six-month journey, led by Samuel Brannan. The voyage was spotlighted by the San Francisco Bay Area Public Affairs Committee, under the leadership of Joe Livingston during a sesquicentennial celebration 10 years ago.
During the recent gathering, several organizers of those 1996 events shared their memories of the celebration, which included a re-enactment of the Brooklyn sailing into San Francisco Bay, a program by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a play about the voyage. Also during the sesquicentennial events 10 years ago, Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve dedicated a "Voyage of the Brooklyn" plaque on Oakland's Temple Hill on July 31, exactly 150 years after the arrival of the ship. Wade Fillmore and others founded the Ship Brooklyn Association.
At the museum meeting, the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation provided copies of the new California's Pioneer Heritage brochures, now available at several California state historic sites and Church visitors centers. Camilla Smith gave attendees copies of The San Francisco Mormon History Walking Tour and encouraged them to tour the sailing ship Balclutha.
"The pioneers in California sustained the Church in Utah as it struggled to survive those first difficult years," observed William E. Homer, author of the book, California Saints.
Attendees were given handicraft materials and invited to build a model sailing ship. California fourth graders study state history and typically build a model of a Catholic mission.
"We want model-ship building to become a fourth-grade project," stated Jack Marshall, a descendant of Brooklyn passengers. "Sailing ships are an important part of California history."