The Gay Head was a sidewheel steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 operating as a ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....

 and Nantucket during the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. It was named after the town of Gay Head, Massachusetts, later renamed Aquinnah

Aquinnah, Massachusetts

Aquinnah is a town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Prior to 1998 the town was officially known as Gay Head, which it is still called by most Islanders from the neighboring towns, but this name does not reflect as well the year-round population of a large American Indian...

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Construction

The Gay Head was built in 1891 in Philadelphia for the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co.  It was 701 tons, 203 feet long, 34 foot beam, a draft of 5½ feet, with encased paddlewheels. The engine was built by Pusey & Jones Co. in Philadelphia. It was the largest sidewheeler ever operated by the company.

According to a 1961 Vineyard Gazette article:

"Her social hall, ladies' saloon and toilet rooms were "all fitted in the Neapolitan style, with gold trimmings." The woodwork was of cherry, and the side seats in the cabins were covered with maroon plush upholstering. The social hall deck was laid with black walnut and maple - its size, too, was imposing, for its length was 50 feet. Above the main deck were the forward promenade and upper saloon, reached fore and aft by "richly carved staircases." Five state rooms on each side were furnished with willow furniture. The Gay Head could boast a hurricane deck extending from the stern to the pilot house; this was something earlier steamers had lacked."

Career

Gay Head was commanded initially in 1891 by Capt. A. P. Bartow and Capt. G. L. Daggett, and later by Capt. Charles H. Fishback of Nantucket, Capt. Charles H. Coulter (resigned 1909), and Capt. J. W. Merriman.

In July 1898, the Gay Head collided with the steamer Nantucket

Nantucket (steamboat)

The Nantucket was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket during the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century...

while crossing Vineyard Sound in a dense fog. The Nantuckets bow was badly damaged in the accident.

The Gay Head operated until 1924, after 33 years of operation.