Northern Neck Now

Miss Ann was built by Pusey & Jones Shipyard of Wilmington, Delaware, in 1926 as the pleasure yacht Siele for John French of Detroit. In 1941, a subsequent owner sold her to the U.S. Navy, which pressed her into service as the USS Aquamarine during World War II. Retrofitted with military gear and painted battleship gray, she was used for underwater acoustics, radar research, and as a special tender to the presidential yachts Potomac and Williamsburg. In 1953 Miss Ann was purchased by E. A Stephens, who rehabilitated her for use at his resort the Tides Inn, in the Lancaster County town of Irvington, where the restored ship evoked her glamorous past with her teak cabin house and main decks, and walnut-paneled interiors.

In more recent years, Miss Ann has been relocated under new ownership to Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County.