Wooden History of "The Highwayman" - Wreckage and Discovery of the Lumber Schooner Oliver J. Olson (1900 -1911)

Author(s): Ricardo Borrero Londoño

Year: 2016

Summary

Careened to starboard prow remains were uncovered by the landslide of a dune during the hurricanes Mary and Norbert at Cabo Falso, Lower California in August of 2014. Main deposit encompasses floor timbers, ribs, beams, planking, iron fasteners, a capstan, a dead eye, a cleat, a hatchway and steam donkey pinions. Machinery inscriptions, wood taxonomy, architectonical characteristics, site location and documentary sources research, drove to identify the wreck as the four-masted schooner Oliver J Olson, built in Aberdeen, Washington by J. Lindstrom in 1900. The sailing-vessel was transporting lumber between Grays Harbord and Guaymas as it was caught by a hurricane that broke its yards off and drove it ashore. Besides, ongoing research highlights the importance of lighthouses and Dog Hole Ports in lumber trade at the North American Pacific, while revealing idyllic stories about Captain Stream and his wife and the partnership between the ship’s owners, Olson and Mahoney. 

Cite this Record

Wooden History of "The Highwayman" - Wreckage and Discovery of the Lumber Schooner Oliver J. Olson (1900 -1911). Ricardo Borrero Londoño. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434693)

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Keywords

General
Lumber Schooner Steam Donkey

Geographic Keywords
Mexico North America

Temporal Keywords
1850-1920

Spatial Coverage

min long: -117.122; min lat: 14.551 ; max long: -86.739; max lat: 32.718 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 317