Question: Old Wreck @ Ballard Beach
December 9th, 2008 @ 12:51 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure
Vintage Seattle reader Steve Ducharme writes in with this question:
In this early 60’s picture when they were building the shilshole marina, at the tip of the beach is an old wreck of a ship. I remember it as a kid. When the tide was out we could walk right up to it. Do you possibly have any info or other pictures about that ship? The wreck was there for many years. Somebody must have taken the picture. Back then it was called Ballard Beach. Many Thanks.
Steve Ducharme
Via E-Mail
12/3/2008
Update 1/5/09: George Spears sent in some additional photos. See them here.
Steve Ducharme
Via E-Mail
12/3/2008
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| Ballard Beach. Photo courtesy Steve Ducharme |
December 9th, 2008 @ 11:19 am
I don’t know anything about this wreck, but it reminds me of the “Windward”, which was aground in Elliott Bay in the late 1870s. You can see it just offshore in some old pictures. Apparently they didn’t remove it when they extended the waterfront, they just filled in around it and it’s still there, buried underground near Colman Dock.
They were probably a little more sensible in removing this ship.
December 9th, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
Sometimes old shipwrecks are sunk and used in those scuba diving “gardens,” like the one that’s off the shore of the waterfront in Edmonds. Maybe that was its fate.
December 10th, 2008 @ 9:59 am
Not sure if it’s in the right area or shipwreck, but a year ago, I dove a shipwreck at the opening of the Ballard locks. The wreck of the Omar resting in 70-80 feet of water. Along side that, are 2 other barges that sunk. I tried to find history of it of when it sunk, but didnt have my Google-fu on.
Some dive sites do mention it:
http://www.pnwscuba.com/directions.htm#shilshole
http://theperfectdive.net/DEF-Site.asp?sID=78
Hope that helps.
December 10th, 2008 @ 10:05 am
I don’t know, but here’s another photo from “Seattle Then & Now,” taken c. 1940 if my math is correct.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2001/0826/nowthen.html
December 10th, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
The ship you are referring to is called “Bearing”. She was a World War 1 Shipping Board wooden vessel built in 1918 as the Anette Rolph. Later called Arthur J Baldwin and was a carrier for the Lomen Reindeer Co. of Nome Alaska. As the Bearing she was owned by the Alaska Steamship Co. In service from 1938 untill 1943 when she struck Alaska reef and was declared a total loss. Was towed to Seattle and beached at the entrance to the government ship canal. The ship was burned in the early 60’s. I have five clear black and white photos up close of the ship. The ship has quite a history. Hope i’ve been of some help. Larry
January 25th, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
Thank you Larry. I’ve been trying to find info on this ship for years. I recall exploring it in the early 1960’s. It could be entered either by inching along a ledge and then into a forecastle porthole, or by crawling through a small tunnel in the sand by the bow. When the tide was out you could walk back to where the engine room had been and enter there. It had a concrete pilot house. If anyone knows of photos of the ship, either posted on the Internet or available in books, please let us know where to find them. Mike.
April 14th, 2009 @ 9:34 pm
This just in from George Spears:
———
Steve Ducharme posed a question on 12/3/08 asking information regarding the old wreck at Ballard Beach. I tried to comment on his response blog (2009 VintageSeattle.org. RSS. Comment Rss. No. 5909) but it would not go thru.
Basically, the comment was that I have the original Seattle PI Sunday Pictorial article dated June 14, 1964 entitled “Death of the Reindeer Ship”. This article is a wonderful description of the
history and pics of the ship being burned (S.S. Annette Rolf) plus pics of the ship when it was launched, pics of the reindeer herds in Alaska before being shipped to Seattle on the old ship and pics of Ralph Loman of the Loman Brothers
(a pioneer family who owned the ship and the reindeer herds in the Alaska tundra). It also turns out that I have in my possession the original ship’s bell engraved “S.S. Annette Rolf S.F. 1918″. I believe this ship’s bell is the last remaining artifact not only of the ship but of the fabulous story it represents. It would be good if you could pass this info on to Steve Ducharme since he indicates much interest in the history of this ship.
Thanks
George Spears
May 3rd, 2009 @ 8:03 pm
If anyone would like to read the Seattle PI Sunday Pictorial article dated June 14, 1964 entitled “Death of the Reindeer Ship” , I would glad to forward it ( 10 photos) plus a complete history of the life of this ship. This ship has an incredible NW legacy.
May 5th, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
The Story of the Ship S.S. Annette Rolph
The Ship S.S. Annette Rolph was named after the daughter of James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. who owned the ship-building plant in the town of Fairhaven (also called “Rolph“) California where the ship was built and launched on July 4, 1918. James Rolph was Mayor of San Francisco for 18 years (1912-1931) and Governor of California (1931-1934), He died in office in 1934. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is unofficially named The “James “Sunny Jim” Rolph Bridge” and the James Rolph Jr playground is located in San Francisco. Gov. Rolph received considerable nationwide criticism for publicly praising the citizens of San Jose following the November 1933 forced lynching of the confessed murderers of Brook Hart, kidnapped son of a wealthy San Jose merchant. He earned the nickname “Governor Lynch” for his support of the lynch mob.
A 245 foot long wooden ship, the S.S. Annette Rolph sailed as a tramp steamer during the First World War. Later, she ran coast wise between Vancouver, B.C. , Caliao, Peru and way ports. She was laid up in the Oakland Creek for several years when she came to the attention of the Lomen Brothers in 1930.
The Lomen Brothers had developed a herd of a quarter million Reindeer that ranged over 4 million acres of muskeg on the Seward Peninsula. To service their reindeer and move the meat south, the brothers purchased the S.S. Annette Rolph, formed the Artic Transport Line and re-named the ship “Arthur J. Baldwin”. For six years the ship moved thousands of reindeer carcasses from far North Alaska ports to Seattle and came to be known as the “Reindeer Ship” In March, 1936, the Arthur J. Baldwin was sold to the Alaska Steamship Co. who renamed the ship “Bering” and put her in general service. Her special run was the salmon cannery ports and traveled as far North as Point Barrow in the Artic Ocean. During World War II, the government took over the ship and named her USS Bering and sent her north as part of the Alaska supply line. On her first voyage for Uncle Sam, on December 17, 1943, the crew put the USS Bering on a reef near Cape Spencer. After resting on the beach for several months, she was re-floated and towed back to Seattle with continuous pumping. Upon her arrival at Seattle, she was condemned and sold for $1.00 to the Tregonning Boat Co, who moored her as a breakwater for a proposed small boat mooring at the entrance to the Lake Washington Ship Canal. After some years fire destroyed part of the Tregonning plant and the vessel was beached near the canal entrance. The War Shipping Administration, for whom the steamship company had been operating the USS Bering. reimbursed the owners in the amount of $100,000. In 1963, The Ballard Elks bought the shoreline where the beached ship was slumbering and the Elks had the Fire Department burn the hulk in January, 1964.
June 26th, 2009 @ 9:50 am
A history of the Lomen family’s involvment in the Reindeer industry can be researched in the book ‘ Fifty Years In Alaska ‘ by Carl J. Lomen. The book was published in 1954 and can be found periodically on Ebay or through abebooks.
The Family genealogy is traceable to the 1400’s in Norway. Still existing is the Lomen stave church from circa 1100 in the Valdres valley of Norway.
Best regards,
Howard Lomen
September 28th, 2009 @ 9:20 pm
Just north of Ray’s Boathouse, there was a wooden ship that my Dad told me was a WWI Victory ship, as opposed to Liberty ships. He told me her name was the “Border Queen”. I’ve seen a number of shots of the Victory ship “fleet” in Lake Union on Ebay.
October 7th, 2009 @ 10:12 pm
Marty Dawg’s dad is wrong (Sept. 28, 09). The writings of George Spears are correct (May 09). I have been all over the “Bearing” as a kid and it was great fun. She was moored at a coal dock near Gas Works Park about six to eight months and later moved to near the foot of 28th Ave. NW in Ballard for a short time. Propeller wash from the tug “Katy”, a Shively Tow Boat Co. boat, spent several days washing (moving) away sand etc. to make a hole in the beach that the “Bearing” could be put into. She was put in that hole on a near high tide in the next day or two. I am sorry that I do not remember the exact date, but I believe was the spring of 47. I can no longer ask Mr. Shively or my dad, Jim Tregoning. They did most of the work and I was along to get in the way.
October 13th, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
We used to sneak on that old hulk & it had dozens of boxes of “canned heat” that were left there, took some of it off & did whatever ten year old kids do with that stuff. Lucky we didn’t burn it (and ourselves) to the waterline then!
December 2nd, 2009 @ 11:23 am
My grandparents lived in Seattle in the 50’s and 60’s and I remember this ship well. I always would get my grandfather to take me to Ray’s Boat House where I could get a good view of the Bearing. Larry Willits wrote on December 10th 2008 that he had several photographs of the ship. I was wondering if Larry could post these photographs?
December 28th, 2009 @ 3:35 pm
John Edson:
I sent a number of pictures of the old Wreck at Ballard Beach, including pictures of the SS Annete Rolf when she wasa complete ship plus others to Jesse Cliffe at: Cliffe@vintageseattle.org. Check and see if he received them.
I assume he can post or pass them on. If not, let me know.
Enjoy.
George Spears
January 8th, 2010 @ 5:37 pm
Jesse Cliffe uploaded the photos noted above at:
http://www.vintageseattle.org/img/wreck/