Statement of Significance (as of designation - April 19, 1994):
Soon after its introduction on the Chesapeake in the 1890s, the skipjack became the preferred oyster dredge boat. During the first quarter of the century, the skipjack fleet numbered into the hundreds; some have estimated nearly 2,000 skipjacks were built, all specifically designed for dredging oysters from the Chesapeake Bay. Kathryn is one of the approximately 16 skipjacks that survive afloat. She was built in 1901 at Crisfield, Maryland, and represents one of the earliest extant and one of the few fore-and-aft planked skipjacks.