Fort Steven's State Park

22. Wreck of the Peter Iredale

Rarely do the skeletal remains of a ship languish indefinitely in a shallow grave to form a pattern in the passing parade of time. The Peter Iredale, a huge creation of a sailing vessel, 278 feet from stem to stern, fashioned of steel plates on iron frames, was such a vessel. Though it saw but a decade and a half of service, it has remained on the sands of Clatsop Beach, half buried, for more than a half-century. Anybody familiar with the Oregon coast has doubtless seen the remains of the Peter Iredale. This old wreck has become a tourist attraction, lying above most stages of the tide for the curious to examine. Each year it presents a different sight, sometimes nearly covered with sand, and again unearthed. Red with rust, succumbing bit by bit to the ravages of time, the Peter Iredale finishes out her days as a last reminder of the era of sail.