John M. Vincent/The Oregonian

By Jamie Hale | The Oregonian, OregonLive

The Peter Iredale reached the northern Oregon coast early on a foggy fall morning, its hull full and bound for Portland. But it would never arrive at port, destined instead to become one of the most famous shipwrecks on the Pacific coast.



It was just after 3 that morning in late October, 1906, when Captain H. Lawrence spotted the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. That was his signal to steer the 275-foot steel-hulled sailing ship toward land, where he would find a pilot schooner to guide them through the dangerous mouth of the Columbia River – an area known to sailors as the Graveyard of the Pacific.



The Peter Iredale arrived at the schooner's cruising grounds near the south jetty before dawn, but no schooner was there, the boat in port undergoing repairs. Within an hour a strong gale picked up, and Captain Lawrence called hands to try to bring the ship about and away from shore, but the wind and rising tide were too much. The ship struck shore near the jetty, the impact so great that three of its four masts snapped immediately.



All crew walked away unharmed, but the ship didn't fare as well. Since there was little damage to the hull, the original plan was to tow the Peter Iredale back out to sea. But as crews waited weeks for favorable conditions, the ship leaned further on its side, becoming too deeply embedded in the sand to remove. The ship was sold for scrap, and what wasn't taken was left to rot away and rust on the beach.



Captain Lawrence, cleared of any wrongdoing in the wreck, offered a final toast to his ship: "May God bless you, and may your bones bleach in the sands."



Over the century since, the wreck of the Peter Iredale has become one of the most popular attractions on the Oregon coast, a prominent feature of what is now known as Fort Stevens State Park. Today, only a rusted skeleton of the steel hull remains, and looking through old photographs shows the incredible rate of its rapid deterioration.



Digging through the Oregonian archives has revealed the story of the shipwreck that still haunts the coast – an attraction that someday will be forever lost to the powerful force of the punishing Pacific.

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Read more: 8 shipwrecks that still haunt the Oregon coast

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Oregonian File Photo

1906

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Oregonian File Photo

1957

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Oregon State Archives

1959

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Oregonian File Photo

1980

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Oregonian File Photo

1983

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Oregonian File Photo

1988

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Oregonian File Photo

1999

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AP Photo/The Daily Astorian, Lori Assa

2005

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

2007

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Foster Church/The Oregonian

2010

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

2018

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

NORTHWEST TRAVEL GUIDES

Winter on the Oregon coast: Need one last winter trip to the coast? Here are 30 things to do, from chowder to spouting horns.

Fort Stevens is a phenomenal state park: The expansive state park on the northern Oregon coast is one of the very best in the state.

Oregon's best museums: Local museums are places to learn, but also to reflect on our communities, cultures and heritage.

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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