Wreck of the Peter Iredale
Near the western-most end of the Lewis and Clark Trail, Captain Clark wrote “Ocean in view – oh, the joy!” Our feelings were equally joyous as we experienced a beautiful day on the Oregon Coast, not far from the of the mouth of the Great River of the West.
Even in Lewis and Clark’s day, the Columbia River was an important destination for seafaring men, mostly associated with the fur trade. The area also had begun to earn its reputation as one of the most dangerous coasts and river bars in the world. Our journey In the Wake of Lewis and Clark took us to a colorful piece of evidence of that danger.
At Ft. Stevens State Park, Oregon, we visited the wreck of the Peter Iredale, a 4-masted bark that was driven onto the beach early in the morning of October 25, 1906. No lives were lost, but all attempts to salvage the vessel were fruitless, so the rusting hulk has settled into the sands, still buffeted by the winds and seas that were her undoing almost 100 years ago.
Near the western-most end of the Lewis and Clark Trail, Captain Clark wrote “Ocean in view – oh, the joy!” Our feelings were equally joyous as we experienced a beautiful day on the Oregon Coast, not far from the of the mouth of the Great River of the West.
Even in Lewis and Clark’s day, the Columbia River was an important destination for seafaring men, mostly associated with the fur trade. The area also had begun to earn its reputation as one of the most dangerous coasts and river bars in the world. Our journey In the Wake of Lewis and Clark took us to a colorful piece of evidence of that danger.
At Ft. Stevens State Park, Oregon, we visited the wreck of the Peter Iredale, a 4-masted bark that was driven onto the beach early in the morning of October 25, 1906. No lives were lost, but all attempts to salvage the vessel were fruitless, so the rusting hulk has settled into the sands, still buffeted by the winds and seas that were her undoing almost 100 years ago.
