One of the West Coast’s deadliest shipwrecks happened over 160 years ago

Just over 160 years ago, the S.S. Brother Jonathan sank south of the Oregon border in what remains one of the region’s deadliest maritime disasters. Over 200 people and a treasure trove of gold coins went down with the ship.

On July 30, 1865, the side-paddle wheel steamer Brother Jonathan departed Crescent City, California, and headed north toward Portland on its usual route up and down the West Coast.

It would be the ship’s final journey.

According to Captain Samuel DeWolf’s widow, Maria DeWolf, the ship’s captain had been worried about the latest northbound journey.

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The night before they were to leave, the officers and many of the crew met with the Captain in the saloon to converse the situation and decide whether to leave in a body or take their chances of going to the bottom.”

— Maria DeWolf

A recent collision in Portland’s harbor had damaged the heavily used ship. In addition, Maria reported that her husband had expressed concern to the ship’s owners that the vessel was overloaded. Despite the warning, the ship set sail on schedule.

A ‘North’wester’ strikes

Soon after leaving the harbor, a fierce summer storm unexpectedly formed out of the blue skies.

Locals called these strong northern winds a “North’wester.”

Gale winds created giant rolling waves that pounded over the bow of the 220-foot-long ship.

According to an official inquiry, the captain called for the ship to turn back. The call came too late. A mountainous wave lifted the boat out of the water and tossed it onto an uncharted rock just below the water’s surface. The collision impaled the ship and ripped its side open.

As the wheeler jolted to a sudden stop, passengers tumbled to the floors of their cabins.

Within minutes, Captain DeWolf made the call to abandon ship.

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I was suddenly startled by a fearful shock, followed by the labored rolling of the ship, a creaking of her timbers and the distinct roar of rushing water.”

— Mina Bernhardt, 1865 shipwreck survivor

A West Coast Titanic

The paddle-wheeler traveled a regular route from British Columbia to Portland, Crescent City and San Francisco. The steamer shuttled merchandise between ports, transporting heavy mining and farming equipment along with household items and hundreds of gallons of whiskey, among other things.

The highest-paying customers enjoyed private, luxury accommodations while steerage class crowded together in the bowels of the ship.

Passengers included miners headed to the newly discovered gold fields in Canada, merchants ferrying wares between port cities, families visiting far-off relatives or settling into expanding frontiers, and a few adventure seekers exploring the Far West.

Most go down with the ship

Less than an hour after hitting the rock, the Brother Jonathan, along with most of its passengers, crew and cargo, disappeared under the waves.

Over 200 passengers and crew died in the wreck.

“

I seized my child with one hand and, grasping a life preserver with the other, I ran upon the deck. When reaching the deck I saw one of the boats already lowered and was full of ladies...and in the same instant, the steamer careened and upset the boat, engulfing all in a merciless wave.”

— Mina Bernhardt, 1865 shipwreck survivor

According to eyewitness accounts, crews scrambled to launch lifeboats, but waves tossed the small crafts — dumping passengers into the frigid water.

Only one small wooden boat managed to escape the disaster, taking just 19 people to safety. Eleven were crew members. Those who survived included eight women and children. Two were listed only as “Chinese woman and child.”

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A Chinese woman was helped in with her child. Her husband asked to get in, but was repulsed. He begged hard, but the sailors were firm. The parting between husband and wife was enough to wring even the hearts of those whose only emotion was that of self preservation.”

— Mary Ann Tweedale, 1865 shipwreck survivor

For months, bodies washed up along the shores of Northern California and Southern Oregon.

Many could not be identified and were buried in local cemeteries. Crescent City residents erected a memorial in their honor.

Treasure ship

The ship was well known for carrying gold. At the time, paper money was rare along the West Coast.

Passengers might hold their entire net worth in gold coins or ingots, often stored in the purser’s safe.

Along with the passengers’ personal money, the ship also transported payrolls for federal military troops and Native American reservation payments.

Salvaging gold and artifacts

In the 1990s, salvagers finally discovered the sunken ship, about six miles off the coast of Crescent City. Over the course of several deep-sea explorations, divers recovered numerous artifacts, including more than 1,200 gold coins.

Many of the artifacts recovered from the shipwreck are now housed at the Del Norte County Historical Society in Crescent City.

That includes a five-dollar gold piece recovered during the salvage operations.

The rest of the gold became the subject of a drawn out court battle.

Ultimately, most was auctioned off to pay the salvagers’ bills.

Today, the wreck site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is protected by the government, and all salvage efforts have halted, at least for now.

The ship and any treasure remain at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Southern Oregon and Northern California.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Last summer, OPB cinematographer Dan Evans and I traveled to Crescent City, California, to visit the Del Norte County Historical Society and see the infamous rock that sank the S.S. Brother Jonathan.

It was an exceptionally calm day with low tides. It was perfect for viewing Jonathan Rock — and whales! That type of ideal situation is not the norm. The waters off Northern California and Southern Oregon can quickly turn deadly. The weather and waves can be fierce, and the water is frigid. As Captain Harry Adams told us, “If the gold were easy to get, they would have gotten it (all) by now.”