Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Shipwrecks photograph album, 1906-1918
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Shipwrecks photograph album
- Dates
- 1906-1918 (inclusive)19061918
- Quantity
- 17 photographic prints (1 folder) ; 3.5 x 5.5 in.
- Collection Number
- PH1329
- Summary
- Hand-colored photographs of shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
These photographs document various shipwrecks up and down the North American West Coast and Hawaii from 1906 to 1918. They include several accidents in the so-called "Graveyard of the Pacific" of the Pacific Northwest region, notorious for wrecks because of its tricky coastline and unpredictable weather. Wrecks in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington are included in this collection.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Hand-colored photographs of shipwrecks off the coasts of Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Identified photographers include Beverly B. Dobbs, G.E. Plummer, Torklas Studio, Winter & Pond, and Frank Woodfield.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View the digital version of the collection
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Donor unknown, probably received before or during the 1970s.
Processing Note
Processed by Ellen York, 2015; Stefanie Terasaki, 2015. Processing completed 2015.
The photographs were transferred from the Ships Subject File, 2015 and were probably part of an album or intended to be placed in an album.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Â
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Folder | item | ||
1 | 1 |
Life-saving boats moving towards the wreck of the ship
Alice The Alice was a square-rigged ship
with a tonnage of 2,509. She was known as a French "bounty-earner" because she
received generous subsidies from the French government so that she could
continue to operate through slack cargoes and economic depression, which
provided extreme cost competition to other ships. She was lost on January 15,
1909, in a gale near Ocean Park, Washington. She was carrying 3,000 tons of
cement, which when wrecked hardened around her mast, keeping it upright. The
crew was quickly rescued and there were no fatalities. The
Alice became a landmark until 1930 because her
mast and rigging remained visible in the tide, anchored by the cement.Caption on photograph: Life savers going throug[h] the surf to the
wrecked ship Alice, Ocean Park, Jan. 15 '09.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
January 15, 1909 |
1 | 2 |
U.S. Dredge Chinook wrecked
in Coos Bay, Oregon Frank Woodfield; Astoria, Oregon (Photographer)
The U.S. Dredge Chinook wrecked in
Oregon's Coos Bay on April 12, 1907. The attempted dismantling of the dredge
for parts after the wreck was unsuccessful and signified a $35,000 loss for the
Riverton Lumber Company. The Chinook's wreck began
a series of mishaps for the company, which included the loss of its famed boat
the Tug Wizard.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
April 12, 1907 |
1 | 3 |
Steam schooner Daisy Freeman
wrecked off the Columbia River G.E. Plummer (Photographer)
The Daisy Freeman was a lumber vessel
owned by S.S. Freeman of San Francisco weighing 613 tons. She wrecked on
October 11, 1912, on a Columbia River sand bar when she was hit by a swell. Her
rudder was damaged and her deck load was washed away. She was so waterlogged
that only her masts and smokestack were visible. She drifted until she anchored
and then was towed to Astoria, Oregon the next day.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
October 11, 1912 |
1 | 4 |
People looking at the wreck of the British barquentine
Galena Frank Woodfield; Astoria,Oregon (Photographer)
The four-masted British barquentine Galena was traveling from Junin, Chile, to Portland,
Oregon, when it ran aground on November 11, 1906, due to poor visibility. Built
in 1890 for owner Thomas Shute of Liverpool, the steel Galena had a tonnage of 2,169 and was captained by John
Howell when it wrecked.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
November 13, 1906 |
1 | 5-6 |
Wreck of the square-rigger Glenesslin at Mt. Neah-Kah-Nie The British steel square-rigger the Glenesslin was built in Liverpool in 1888 for C.E.
Dewolf & Company. Captained by Owen Williams, it wrecked on the rocks of
Mount Neah-Kah-Nie in Oregon under suspicious circumstances on October 1, 1913,
while sailing from Santos, Brazil, to Portland, Oregon. Witnesses on the scene
said that the rescued crew and captain all appeared to be intoxicated at the
time of the wreck and speculated that the ship had purposefully been crashed to
collect the insurance money. The outdated Glenesslin faced major competition from the invention
and popularity of steam engines and was worth more wrecked than functioning. An
investigation conducted after the wreck found that the Glenesslin was captained with "great negligence,"
resulting in the suspension of Captain Williams' certification and the
insurance company's refusal to pay the claim.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
October 1, 1913 |
1 | 7 |
Schooner Helene beached at
Point Hudson, Washington Torklas Studio; Port Townsend, Washington (Photographer)
The four-masted schooner Helene was
built in 1900 for Allen & Robinson, weighing 927 tons. Captained by O.
Lemke, the Helene ran aground at Point Hudson,
near Port Townsend, Washington, in March of 1918. After $4,000 in repairs, it
was sold to Matson Navigation Company.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
March 1918 |
1 | 8 |
Wreck of the barquentine Klikitat The 493 ton, three-masted Klikitat
was built by John Kruse in 1881 at the Simpson Yard in North Bend, Oregon. She
set a speed record in 1896 for finishing the voyage from Honolulu, Hawaii, to
Port Townsend, Washington, in 9 days and 16 hours. This record for sailing
vessels stood until 1909. The Klikitat was
stranded on Honlii Point, Hawaii, on November 9, 1912, while being operated by
the Puget Sound Commercial Company.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
November 9, 1912 |
1 | 9-10 |
Tanker S.S. Maverick with
boats assisting Frank Woodfield; Astoria, Oregon (Photographer)
The S.S. Maverick was a gas tanker
built for Standard Oil of New York. It was later used in World War I as part of
the Hindu-German Conspiracy, which sought to overthrow the British Raj in
India. The tanker sank in 1917 under unclear circumstances.
Hand-colored photographs.
|
1917 |
1 | 11 |
Four-masted sailing vessel Mimi aground near Nehalem, Oregon The German ship Mimi was built in
1893. She ran aground on February 13, 1913, off the coast of Oregon. The first
mate claimed to have dreamt of the wreck the night before and cautioned the
crew to abandon ship. He, along with the captain Ludwig Westphal and two other
crew members, survived the wreck while the 18 men who remained on board died
during several unsuccessful salvage missions conducted by Fisher Engineering.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
February 13, 1913 |
1 | 12 |
Steamship Northwestern
covered in ice in Juneau, Alaska Winter & Pond; Juneau, Alaska
The passenger ship the S.S. Northwestern was launched in 1889 by the Delaware River
Iron Ship Building and Engine Works. It immediately gained a reputation for
trouble after several unsuccessful missions. Eventually, the S.S.
Northwestern was docked in Dutch Harbor, Alaska,
to serve as housing for U.S. Navy troops. It was often covered in ice during
cold winter months, as seen in this photograph. On June 4, 1942, the S.S.
Northwestern was hit by a Japanese bomb and
rendered unfit for housing. The steamship was deliberately sunk in 1946 in
Captain's Bay, Unalaska.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
January 22, 1916 |
1 | 13 |
Wreck of the schooner Oshkosh
near the Columbia River Jetty Frank Woodfield; Astoria, Oregon (Photographer)
The schooner Oshkosh was built in
1909, weighing just 145 tons. While making for the Umqua River, it struck
bottom and capsized near the Columbia River Jetty on February 13, 1911. Only
the engineer George May survived out of the seven man crew, which included
Captain Thomas Latham.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
February 13, 1911 |
1 | 14 |
The ship Porter taking on
water near Nome, Alaska. Beverly B. Dobbs; Nome, Alaska (Photographer)
Caption on photo: Rough weather in Bering Sea near Nome, Str.
Porter.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
undated |
1 | 15 |
The Princess May wrecked on
Sentinel Island, Alaska The coastal liner Princess May was
built in 1888, weighing 1717 tons. In her years of service, she was owned by
several different companies and known under several different names. Owned by
Canadian Pacific Railway at the time, the Princess
May was southbound from Skagway, Alaska, with about 100 passengers, a
crew of 68, and a shipment of gold on August 5, 1910. She was cautiously moving
down Lynn Canal in a heavy fog when she struck a reef, driving up onto the
rocks, so that at low tide she lay high and dry with her bow at a 23 degree
angle. This image of the perfectly balanced Princess
May was widely circulated after the event. She was returned to service
in 1911 after costly repairs to her badly damaged hull. She was deliberately
sunk in the 1930s.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
August 5, 1910 |
1 | 16 |
The mast of the Rosecrans
near Fort Canby, Washington Woodfield Photo (photographer)
The Rosecrans was built in 1883 as a
passenger and cargo vessel, weighing 2,681 tons. She was converted to a tanker
in 1903 and was purchased by the Associated Oil Company of San Francisco.The
ship ran aground at Peacock Spit on the Columbia River Bar during a storm on
July 1, 1913.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
circa 1913 |
1 | 17 |
The tugboat Tatoosh rescuing
the Washington in the Columbia River The steam schooner Washington was
built in 1906 for the Washington Marine Company with a tonnage of 539. While
traveling from Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco, California, the
Washington ran aground in the Columbia River on
November 12, 1911. Captained by George Winkel, with a crew of 23 and a
passenger load of 25, the Washington sat stuck in
the river being battered by the current. Several rescue missions were attempted
but none could approach the Washington without
getting stuck themselves. It was widely reported in newspapers that the
schooner was certainly doomed. After a day, the steel steam tug
Tatoosh and her captain, Buck Bailey, arrived on
the scene and was able to successfully tow the Washington to shore. The Tatoosh and Captain Bailey were known for previous
rescue missions and saving the Washington from
seemingly certain peril bolstered that reputation.
Hand-colored photograph.
|
November 13, 1911 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Shipwrecks--Alaska--Photographs
- Shipwrecks--Hawaii--Photographs
- Shipwrecks--Oregon--Photographs
- Shipwrecks--Washington--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Form or Genre Terms
- Photographic prints