The “Peter Iredale” was built by Riston of Mayport, England, in the year 1890 on the brink of the Industrial Revolution. The 287 foot cargo ship was one in a fleet of 24 ships owned by Peter Iredale and John Porter and was used to transport grain from the Pacific Northwest United States to Australia and coal and wool to England.

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Captain H. Lawrence offered his crew a bonus if they cut five days off of their average sail time from Salina Cruz, Mexico, to Portland. Twenty-eight days into the voyage, the ship was in site of the Columbia R. and the crew was confident they would make the deadline.

The sea had other plans. A strong southwest storm blew in and caught the ship with her sails up, snapping her masts in half. With an empty cargo hold, she was washed ashore to her final resting place on the Pacific side of the southern entrance to the Columbia R. The ship was declared a total loss and was eventually sold to Pacific Iron Works of Astoria for scrap. Other sea loses, low sales, and the advent of modern technology took their toll on Mr. Iredale and Mr. Porter’s remaining fleet, forcing their shipping line into bankruptcy.

A century later, the heavily corroded iron bow of the “Iredale” wades in and out of the Pacific with the changing tides, reminding visitors of the temporary nature of man made things.