Mystery shipwreck Updated: Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 1:44 pm PST
Photo Gallery
Winter storms pounding the North Spit continue to whittle away at the foredune that once encased the remains of a mystery shipwreck. On Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2008, the dune behind the ship had not revealed any more than the bow section and a wooden mast at the wreck about half way between the hulk of the New Carissa and Coos Bay's north jetty. View Slideshow
Shipwrecks Map
Storms uncover mystery shipwreck
The shipbuilder's daughter
NB woman shares story of her father, his company, an industry
Mary Granger looks out the front window of her North Bend home, to where the former Kruse & Banks Shipbuilding Co. once was located on the waterfront, on Feb. 22. Granger's father was one of the principals of the shipyard and she has compiled a historical record of the company with articles, facts and photos, shown in the background.
Shipwreck resurfaces in Bandon
BANDON - People are fascinated with shipwrecks, and Bandon, with its treacherous bar and once-busy port, definitely has its share.
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Not all George Olsons created equal: the 'mystery' vessel and its imposters
NORTH BEND - It's the wooden-hulled George L. Olson, the press release said.
It was a mystery ship no more, uncovered by grinding waves from this winter's unusual storms on Coos Bay's North Spit.
Other local shipwrecks
The following is a listing of shipwrecks off Coos Bay.
Read Story | CommentsLook, learn and leave it alone
"Storms uncover mystery shipwreck" was the headline on the front page Tuesday. The story by Elise Hamner and photos by Susan Chambers provided readers with a glimpse into the past that's been uncovered out on the North Spit. This season's pounding waves and ferocious winds shifted a mountain of sand, revealing the 35-foot-long bow of a wooden-hulled ship.
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Bow a beacon of rediscovery
They came this week by car, by truck, by ATV.
By bicycle, on foot.
The comments around town were all about the traffic jam.
"It's like our version of an L.A. freeway out there."
"If you can't drive yourself onto the North Spit, just hang out your thumb."
Researchers narrow identity of mystery shipwreck
BLM's cultural resource coordinator, Steve Samuels, was at the Coos Historical and Maritime Museum on Friday comparing pictures of old ships with photos of the recently uncovered shipwreck.
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BLM urges caution at shipwreck, beach
Take it easy. Stay off it. That's the word from Megan Harper about the mystery shipwreck on Coos Bay's North Spit.
There have been hundreds of people who have trekked onto the North Spit this week to look at the weathered bow buried in the sand. The challenge now is preventing people from wrecking what's left.
One letter writer's shipwreck recollection
I believe the shipwreck featured on the front page (The World, Feb. 6) is the remnants of the George Olson.
It went sailing down the bay in the late '40s or the early '50s with the holds full and the decks piled high with lumber for the California market. It was the last of the wooden steam-powered lumber schooners.
The house the C.A. Smith built
"If I lived to be 175, I didn't intend to walk in that blankety-blank thing," John said.
That was then. He's living there now — in the 84-year-old house built from lumber of the wreck of the schooner C.A. Smith.
Researchers pinpoint shipwreck identity
"The maritime historians who have looked at this all nod their heads and say, "Yep. That’s the one,'" said archaeologist Steve Samuels this afternoon.
It's the shipwreck of the George L. Olson jutting out on Coos Bay's North Spit.
How the Coos Bay Times reported the Olson crash
The following are quotations and excerpts from the Coos Bay Times regarding the shipwreck and disposal in 1944 of the steamship George L. Olson.
Read Story | CommentsPhotos, stories help identify the wreck
Archaeologists credit high-resolution photos as the key to solving the identity mystery of the George L. Olson shipwreck on Coos Bay’s North Spit.
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Mystery solved
"The maritime historians who have looked at this all nod their heads and say, 'Yep. That's the one,'" said archaeologist Steve Samuels Wednesday afternoon.
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Olson’s lumber built church
It was in 1945 and into ’46. The story goes that principally five women and two elderly men framed and sided the church with lumber salvaged from a shipwreck. It was that of the steamship George L. Olson — the remnants of which appeared out of the sand on Coos Bay’s North Spit this winter.
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