Wreck of the Peter Iredale – Oregon
The Peter Iredale is the name of a 4-mast 19th century sailing ship that ran aground along a stretch of the Oregon and Washington coast known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. Sailing from Salina Cruz, Mexico, on September 26, 1906, the ship was headed for Portland, Oregon. The ship wrecked just south of the mouth of Columbia River, at Clatsop Spit. While the ship was largely intact, unfavorable weather conditions at the time, made its retrieval extremely difficult, and the grounding only became worse. Eventually it was abandoned and largely stripped of its cargo, masts, and haul. All that remained was its metal frame which has rusted out over time, leaving the part of the mast and bow that are seen today.
The Peter Iredale was named after its owner, who was a well known ship owner in Liverpool, England. Liverpool is a famous British port, and home of the RMS Titanic which sank three years after the Peter Iredale.
Today the Peter Iredale shipwreck is part of Fort Stevens State Park, and easily accessed from a road that leads down to the beach where it rests. It is one of the most accessible shipwrecks along the Pacific coast, which near the Columbia River alone, has claimed more that 2000 ships and hundreds of lives.
Fort Stevens State Park: Website
Suggested Reading:
The Graveyard of the Pacific: Shipwreck Stories from the Depths of History – Anthony Dalton