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December 27, 1901: French Bark Henriette Sinks in Astoria Harbor

December 27, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Morning Oregonian headline, 28 December 1901The French bark Henriette sank in Astoria’s harbor on December 27, 1901 (Morning Oregonian, 28 December 1901).

ASTORIA, Dec. 27. – The French bark Henriette, with a cargo of redwood lumber for Europe, is at the bottom of the river a short distance out from the wharves opposite Kopp’s brewery, in Uppertown. Yesterday afternoon and the night previous, the bark had dragged her anchors, and was well outside the river channel toward the shore, and a tug went to her to taker her to a safe anchorage in the lower harbor, but the tug’s service was declined. At low water last evening, shortly after 8 o’clock, the bark settled on some hard object and immediately began to leak. The tide at the time was extremely low, registering 1.9 feet below zero, one of the lowest of the year.

The pumps were manned, but the water began to make headway until 2 o’clock, this morning, when the officers and crew left her, and shortly afterwards she keeled over and sank.

Built on the Seine in 1874, the Henriette was a diminutive craft of the old school. She had been loaded with 400,000 feet of redwood lumber from California, which had been brought to Portland by steam schooner.

Within days agents for the bark called for bids to release her from the harbor. Green redwood lumber differs from fir and pine in the respect that all of it will not float, making the task of saving the cargo quite difficult (Morning Oregonian, 29 December 1901).

By March she had been raised and her cargo recovered (Morning Oregonian, 6 March 1902)

Filed Under: History, Oregon, Oregon Coast, This Day in History, Transport

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