209. Reverie Photo date: Sept. 15, 1894.

The 1896 List of Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States lists a 112.1' steam yacht named Reverie built in 1890 in Greenpoint, NY. Its homeport in 1896 was New York City.

The 1906 Lloyd's Register lists Reverie as a 130' wooden steam schooner designed by G. Hillman and built in 1890 by S. Pine of Greenpoint, Long Island. Its owner in 1906 was Edward B. Corey and its homeport as Far Rockaway, Long Island.

Dwight Brown Jr. informs us that Reverie was a steam yacht at one time owned by Stephen Wilcox of the Babcock & Wilcox Boiler Co. He writes:

"Much of the information that I have is due to some effort in providing the Babcock & Wilcox Co., a history of their founders, Stephen Wilcox and George H. Babcock from the newspaper and local marine research that I have been conducting for the past twenty-five or more years. I have some newspaper articles in which the Reverie is referred to in regards to Mr. Wilcox and his efforts to enhance his hometown of Westerly, R. I. The following is quoted from a local publication titled 'Pawcatuck River Steamboats' ... 'The Steam Yachts':

Yacht Reverie -- As late as 1888 no steam producer (such as the Babcock & Wilcox Co.), had constructed a safe, simple marine type boiler. In 1889, Stephen Wilcox produced a marine water-tube boiler which was installed in a yacht then under construction after a design by Gustave Hillman, N.A. This was the Reverie. Her length was 112 feet by 17 feet beam. The new boiler was built entirely of forged steel and furnished steam at 225 pounds pressure to a quadruple expansion engine having cylinders 8, 11, 16 ½ and 26 inches in diameter by 12 inches stroke. This power plant proved to be a great success as well as a source of unlimited gratification to Mr. Wilcox.

The Reverie was especially speedy and in order to dock her in a comfortable depth of water a short pier was built out to the edge of the channel in the Pawcatuck River. In 1892 Mr. Wilcox sold the Reverie to Frederic Bourne, the president of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. Mr. Wilcox had it in his mind to have a larger vessel built in order to accommodate the newer model of his marine boiler, and he had already engaged Gustave Hillman to design the new vessel for him. A name had already been chosen, she was to be named the Rocket. This endeavor failed to be completed for in 1893 Mr. Wilcox died."