The Haunting Wreck of the Peter Iredale

The skeletal remains of the Peter Iredale rise from the sand like iron ghosts, telling a century-old tale of maritime disaster. When I finally stood before this famous shipwreck on Oregon’s coast, I felt both awe and a strange sense of disappointment. We’d read about the Peter Iredale shipwreck before we began our road trip and were anxious to see it in person. But, standing there on the beach, the sight of the wreck felt almost anticlimactic. On the one hand, it was sinfully convenient—just steps away from the shore. On the other, it seemed almost mundane due to how little is left. Join me as I explore this eerie landmark along the coast of Oregon.

A Ship’s Final Journey

Near Astoria, Oregon, the Peter Iredale is without doubt the region’s most famous shipwreck. This British four-masted steel barque was en route to Portland when fate intervened. Caught in heavy seas and powerful winds, the vessel ran aground on Clatsop Beach, just west of the Columbia River’s mouth.

Remarkably, thanks to the swift action of the lifesaving crew at Point Adams, all 27 people aboard – including two stowaways – were rescued without a single life lost. (Although, it’s also said that if the crew had waited a couple of hours, they could have walked ashore!)

We picked up a map at the visitor center at Fort Stevens which showed the wreck’s location. I’ve never been map-challenged, but finding the wreck proved challenging for us. The map was surprisingly confusing to navigate because it wasn’t to scale. Compounding the problem, there was very little signage on the roads. Given that the Peter Iredale is a huge tourist draw, both surprised me.

When we finally arrived, I stood on the sand, feeling a mix of emotions. I’d expected a grand, intact hull—instead, I found a weathered skeleton. In fact, the story of the Peter Iredale is almost better than the real thing.

From Disaster to Destination

After the grounding, the British authorities did, of course, convene an inquiry. They concluded that the grounding resulted from a sudden wind shift and strong current, clearing the crew of any wrongdoing. The public, however, wasn’t interested in what the British authorities thought. They had a celebrity on their hands—a real life shipwreck you could almost walk to! Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the day after the wreck, the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad was already planning to run excursion trains to the site. Still, that does seem a little…opportunistic.

Over the next 50 years, the sand bar shifted, making the wreckage even more accessible. The story became more convoluted in 1960 when a man notified Clatsop County that he’d inherited the ship from his father. Apparently, his father had purchased the Peter Iredale shipwreck for $25 in 1908. The man intended to salvage the ship. The state of Oregon and Clatsop County were incensed and geared up for a legal battle. Nobody was taking away their tourist attraction. Tensions escalated and, at one point, the ship was even being guarded 24/7 to ensure that it was kept safe. The entire story is fascinating and can be found here.

Today, the rusting remains continue to draw visitors to this stretch of the Oregon coast. 

Final Thoughts

This amazing story really began moments after the grounding. Captain H. Lawrence stood onshore with his crew and raised a glass of whiskey to toast his beached ship. At that point, he said, “May God bless you and may your bones bleach in these sands.” The captain then invited his crew to join him in a final toast to their lost ship. Somehow, it seems the captain’s toast has stood the test of time. Despite legal battles, salvage attempts, and even tourists, the Peter Iredalestill lies in the sands where it ran aground.

What do you think of Captain Lawrence’s actions? Would you toast to your ship as Captain Lawrence did? Or would you take another path? If you’ve visited a historical shipwreck, I’d also love to hear about it.

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See all my Friday Morning Posts here. If you missed last week’s post, you can use this link to view A Civilization Beneath a Mountain?.