A powerful nor'easter storm that battered the Massachusetts island of Nantucket over the weekend has exposed what may be the remains of an 1884 shipwreck on a south shore beach known as Point of Breakers.

The newly visible wooden timbers, jutting out of the sand in the shape of a hull, are believed to belong to the Warren Sawyer, a cargo schooner that ran aground near Nantucket on the night of December 22, 1884. The ship was traveling from New Orleans to Boston carrying bales of cotton and scrap iron. The captain and crew were rescued within hours, and islanders later salvaged much of the cargo.

The discovery was prompted by a tip from island resident David DeHart, who spotted the ship's remains and alerted a local journalist. "I drove out there with my son Owen and sure enough, it was right there where David said it was," said Jason Graziadei, editor-in-chief of the Nantucket Current.

This is not the first time remains have surfaced at the same location. Fragments of a wooden ship were previously uncovered at the site in 2022 and again in 2023.

Following the 2022 discovery, David Robinson, director and chief archaeologist for the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources, inspected the findings and spent several months conducting research alongside the Egan Maritime Institute and the Nantucket Historical Association.

Robinson later concluded the remnants most likely belonged to the Warren Sawyer. "As with most historical archaeological research," Robinson said in 2023, "exploring the available literature, archival, photographic, and archaeological evidence we collectively assembled for the site to try to arrive at a conclusive determination as to whether or not the wreckage is from the tern [sailing vessel], Warren Sawyer."

Graziadei, who covered the earlier discoveries, said he is confident the latest remains are from the same vessel. "I just think it's fascinating to be able to see and touch a piece of Nantucket's maritime history from 1884, and also incredible to think that it is located in a spot on the shore that cars were literally driving over on the beach this summer," he said.

The nor'easter brought heavy rainfall and dangerous coastal flooding to parts of the north-eastern United States. More than 160,000 households lost power during the storm.