Peter Iredale (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Peter Iredale was a four-masted steel barque
sailing vessel that ran ashore October 25, 1906, on the Oregon
coast en route to the Columbia River
. It was abandoned on Clatsop Spit
near Fort Stevens
in Warrenton
about four miles (6 km) south of the Columbia River channel. Wreckage is still visible, making it a popular tourist attraction as one of the most accessible shipwrecks of the Graveyard of the Pacific
.
, England
, where his business was headquartered.
The ship was built in Maryport
in June 1890, by R. Ritson & Co Ltd for P. Iredale & Porter. It weighed 2,075 tons and measured 87 meters (285 ft) in length and was fashioned from steel plates on an iron frame. It had royal sails above double top
and topgallant sail
s, and was the largest vessel built by Ritson. The ship was originally commanded by Captain G.A. Brown and later by Captain H. Lawrence.
, Mexico
, on or about September 26, 1906, the Peter Iredale was bound for Portland
, Oregon with 1,000 tons of ballast and a crew of 27, including two stowaway
s. The voyage up the coast was unremarkable until the night of October 25, when Captain H. Lawrence sighted the Tillamook Rock Light
house at 3:20 a.m. local time. The crew altered course first east-northeast and then northeast to enter the mouth of the Columbia River in thick mist and a rising tide. Under strong winds out of the west, an attempt was made to wear the ship away from shore, but a heavy northwest squall grounded the Peter Iredale on Clatsop Sands (now called Clatsop Spit
). High seas and wind drove the ship ashore. A lifeboat was dispatched from Hammond, Oregon and assisted in evacuating the sailors, who were tended to at Fort Stevens
. No casualties occurred in the accident.
A Naval Court inquiry was held in Astoria
on November 12 and 13, 1906, by the British Vice-Consulate to determine the cause of the wreck. After investigating, no blame was placed on Lawrence and the crew for the loss, and he and his officers were commended for their attempts to save the ship.
There was little damage to the hull and plans were made to tow the ship back to sea, but after several weeks waiting for favorable weather and ocean conditions, the ship had listed to the right and become embedded in the sands. She was sold for scrap. All that remains is the bow, a few ribs, and a couple of masts. The rudder is sitting in the parking lot at the Columbia River Maritime Museum
in nearby Astoria.
Captain Lawrence's final toast to his ship was: "May God bless you, and may your bones bleach in the sands."
of the U.S. mainland from Japan
ese submarine
s during the World War II
when several shells
were fired at Battery Russell on June 20, 1942. Though the wrecked Peter Iredale was in the line of fire, no damage was done to it. The next day rolls of barbed wire
were strung from Point Adams southward to hamper invasion. The Peter Iredale was entwined in the wire
and remained that way until the end of the war.
Over a century since it ran aground, the remains of the Peter Iredale's rusted bow and masts are still visible jutting out of the sand and are a popular tourist attraction. The wreck is contained within Fort Stevens State Park as part of the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks
.
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
sailing vessel that ran ashore October 25, 1906, on the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
coast en route to the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. It was abandoned on Clatsop Spit
Clatsop Spit
Clatsop Spit is a giant sand spit on the Pacific coast along U.S. 101 between Astoria and the north end of Tillamook Head in Clatsop County, northwest Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Clatsop Spit was formed by Columbia River sediment brought to the coast by the river flow after the...
near Fort Stevens
Fort Stevens (Oregon)
Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens. The fort was an active military...
in Warrenton
Warrenton, Oregon
Warrenton is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The city is named for D.K. Warren, an early settler. The population was 4,096 at the 2000 census.- History :...
about four miles (6 km) south of the Columbia River channel. Wreckage is still visible, making it a popular tourist attraction as one of the most accessible shipwrecks of the Graveyard of the Pacific
Graveyard of the Pacific
The Graveyard of the Pacific is a nickname for a stretch of the coastal region in the Pacific Northwest, from Tillamook Bay on the Oregon Coast northward to the tip of Vancouver Island...
.
Namesake
The ship was named after Peter Iredale, who not only owned the vessel as part of his shipping fleet, but was also a well known figure in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where his business was headquartered.
The ship was built in Maryport
Maryport
Maryport is a town and civil parish within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Cumberland. It is located on the A596 road north of Workington, and is the southernmost town on the Solway Firth. Maryport railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line. The town is in...
in June 1890, by R. Ritson & Co Ltd for P. Iredale & Porter. It weighed 2,075 tons and measured 87 meters (285 ft) in length and was fashioned from steel plates on an iron frame. It had royal sails above double top
Topsail
A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.- Square rig :On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a square sail rigged above the course sail and below the topgallant sail where carried...
and topgallant sail
Topgallant sail
On a square rigged sailing vessel, a topgallant sail is the square-rigged sail or sails immediately above the topsail or topsails. It is also known as a gallant or garrant sail....
s, and was the largest vessel built by Ritson. The ship was originally commanded by Captain G.A. Brown and later by Captain H. Lawrence.
Wreck
Sailing from Salina CruzSalina Cruz
Salina Cruz is a major seaport on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the state's third-largest city and is municipal seat of the municipality of the same name.It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, on or about September 26, 1906, the Peter Iredale was bound for Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon with 1,000 tons of ballast and a crew of 27, including two stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
s. The voyage up the coast was unremarkable until the night of October 25, when Captain H. Lawrence sighted the Tillamook Rock Light
Tillamook Rock Light
Tillamook Rock Light is a deactivated lighthouse on the Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately offshore from Tillamook Head, and south of the Columbia River, situated on less than acre of basalt rock in the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned...
house at 3:20 a.m. local time. The crew altered course first east-northeast and then northeast to enter the mouth of the Columbia River in thick mist and a rising tide. Under strong winds out of the west, an attempt was made to wear the ship away from shore, but a heavy northwest squall grounded the Peter Iredale on Clatsop Sands (now called Clatsop Spit
Clatsop Spit
Clatsop Spit is a giant sand spit on the Pacific coast along U.S. 101 between Astoria and the north end of Tillamook Head in Clatsop County, northwest Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Clatsop Spit was formed by Columbia River sediment brought to the coast by the river flow after the...
). High seas and wind drove the ship ashore. A lifeboat was dispatched from Hammond, Oregon and assisted in evacuating the sailors, who were tended to at Fort Stevens
Fort Stevens (Oregon)
Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens. The fort was an active military...
. No casualties occurred in the accident.
A Naval Court inquiry was held in Astoria
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
on November 12 and 13, 1906, by the British Vice-Consulate to determine the cause of the wreck. After investigating, no blame was placed on Lawrence and the crew for the loss, and he and his officers were commended for their attempts to save the ship.
There was little damage to the hull and plans were made to tow the ship back to sea, but after several weeks waiting for favorable weather and ocean conditions, the ship had listed to the right and become embedded in the sands. She was sold for scrap. All that remains is the bow, a few ribs, and a couple of masts. The rudder is sitting in the parking lot at the Columbia River Maritime Museum
Columbia River Maritime Museum
The Columbia River Maritime Museum is a museum of maritime history located about ten miles from the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon, U.S.. It has a national reputation for the quality of its exhibits and the scope of its collections and was the first museum in Oregon to meet...
in nearby Astoria.
Captain Lawrence's final toast to his ship was: "May God bless you, and may your bones bleach in the sands."
World War II
The Oregon Coast saw the bombardmentBombardment of Fort Stevens
The Bombardment of Fort Stevens occurred in June 1942, during early months of the Pacific War. An Imperial Japanese submarine fired on the United States military installation, Fort Stevens which was protecting the Oregon side of the Columbia River's Pacific entrance.-Bombardment:The Japanese...
of the U.S. mainland from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when several shells
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
were fired at Battery Russell on June 20, 1942. Though the wrecked Peter Iredale was in the line of fire, no damage was done to it. The next day rolls of barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
were strung from Point Adams southward to hamper invasion. The Peter Iredale was entwined in the wire
Wire
A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
and remained that way until the end of the war.
Today
Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks
The Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorate the Lewis and Clark Expedition...
.
External links
- Peter Iredale at iredale.de
- The Maryport sailing ship Peter Iredale
- Aerial photo at high tide taken by Columbia BarColumbia BarThe Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the US states of Oregon and Washington. The bar is about wide and long....
pilot - Wreckage September 14, 2010
- 1906 port view of wrecked Peter Iredale
