Lumber Landings - The Sea Ranch Association

1
LUMBER LANDINGS, DOGHOLE SCHOONERS AND SHIPWRECKS
By Harry Lindstrom
Copyright 2013
July 20, 2013 Presentation
San Francisco Burning
The California Gold Rush was the catalyst which stimulated the lumber industry on the coast. Large
numbers of people came to San Francisco on ships from the east coast and by wagon train from the
Midwest and other areas beyond the Sierras. Lumber was in great demand for those who chose to stay
in San Francisco, establish a home and an enterprise, capitalizing on the demands for goods from the
gold fields. Many established temporary quarters in the ships abandoned in the rush to the gold fields.
They also erected tents and ramshackle structures living in close quarters, tempting a conflagration. The
fires began with the first substantial destruction occurring on December 24, 1849 with an estimated one
million dollars in damage. “This was the first of the great fires which devastated San Francisco, and it
was to be speedily followed by still more extensive and disastrous occurrences of a similar character.
Scarcely were the ashes cold when
preparations were made to erect new
buildings on the old sites, and within a few
weeks the place was covered as densely as
before with houses of every kind” (2). On
May 4, 1850 another fire occurred with
estimated losses four times the December
amount. Fires of various sizes continued until
the grandest one of all in 1906. These
tragedies on top of the population growth
created an insatiable demand for lumber.
Further, the Gold Rush had a domino effect
which fed the insatiability, not only for
lumber, but other wood products; shingles, cord wood for fireplaces, fence posts for those who left the
gold fields and went back into farming and/or ranching. The rapid expansion of railroads demanded
wood ties to lay tracks. In addition, a little known product from the lumber industry was the use of the
California tanoak tree, whose bark produces a tannin used in the
tanning business. The price of lumber rose and many entrepreneurs of
the day turned more and more attention to the abundance of lumber in
the redwood forests to the immediate north of San Francisco.
Getting There
From the advent of the lumber industry on the Sonoma/Mendocino
coast in the mid-19th century until the old growth redwood ran out,
shipping was the main method of transporting the lumber as well as
other goods and people. Land routes were torturous and at times
impassable. They did not accommodate the long distance
transportation of large loads. The ship landings which developed along
the coast were not much more than small coves. The derogatory name
2
“dog-holes” was how they were described because it was
said they were so tight not even a dog could turn around in
them. Undertows, shallow reefs, thick kelp, swells and
hidden rocks were ever present hazards with these sites.
To deal with the dog hole ports, ships called schooners
were developed as vessels used for short hauls. They
generally had two masts, were faster, easier to handle,
needed smaller crews, made of wood and were less
expensive to operate than other sailing ships. Compared to
other boats, the schooners were shorter in length, wider, their hull depths were shallower and they
were generally under 200 tons. From 1860 to 1884 about 70% of vessels built were sail powered only
(3). After 1884 most had steam power. Steam allowed the boats to go even when there was no wind. In
addition it allowed the vessel to move up rivers where that was possible. The steam schooners generally
still had sails, in case the engine or boiler failed.
The captains or masters of these schooners often had a different role and relationship with their crews
than their counterparts on ocean going vessels. The difference can be attributed to the fact trips were
much shorter, the food generally better and the crew on board was by choice, not “shanghaied”.
Schooner masters worked side by side with the men, were generally liked by the crew, some of whom
followed them from ship to ship. Despite the advantages of being seamen on these vessels, the job was
difficult and dangerous, with wrecks, groundings and vessel damage being relatively frequent. Consider
the unfortunate circumstances which befell the “Archie and Fontie” (pictured above) in a two week
period during 1893. This was a two masted sail schooner built in 1890 at Benecia and owned by H.A.
Richardson, of the prominent Sonoma Coast family whose name is synonymous with Stewarts Point and
whose descendants still live in the area. The ship was named for his sons. In 1893 they were busy
hauling lumber products like posts and bark for a company called Higgins and Collins in San Francisco. In
mid-June Captain Hansen took over for Captain Nelson.
The Morning Call of June 24, 1893 reports; “It was definitely proven yesterday that the gunners of Fort
Point can hit a vessel passing in through the Golden Gate. Just before the damaging shot was fired a
shell hummed uncomfortably close to the schooner’s stern. The commander hesitated on keeping on his
course, but thinking that the first shot was an accidental one, he sailed on. Much to his astonishment, a
few minutes later his vessel was hit. A big 12-inch shell fired from the shore batteries at the top of the
hill back of (the fort) carried away the jib gear of the schooner Archie and Fontie when that vessel was
putting to sea in the morning, and scared her captain so that he put back to Howard No. 1 for repairs.”
Then three days later The Morning Call reports; “Misfortunes never come singly and Captain Hansen of
the schooner Archie and Fontie is fully convinced of the truth of this maxim. Sunday afternoon (he)
thought he would try to make his destination again. He passed the heads safely, although he imagined
he saw all the guns in Fort Point trained on him . . . (He) arrived safely off Stewarts Point. Here he was
struck by a squall that carried his main foresail and flying jib away and nearly threw his vessel on its
beam ends. With the assistance of a towboat, the Archie and Fontie came back to port to obtain another
supply of canvas.” Adding insult to injury the July 6th, 1893 Morning Call advises; “Another catastrophe is
associated with the name of the Archie and Fontie, a “hoodoo” schooner as the water-front people are
wont to call her. Yersterday the tug Elizabeth hooked on to her with the intention of towing her to a
berth. The schooner was heavily laden with redwood posts and was hard to handle. An ebb tide was
running which drifted the Elizabeth and her tow in to the scow schooner Frank Lawrence, the boom of
the latter colliding with the engine-house of the tug, smashing through the structure and puncturing the
boiler of the towboat. In an instant the three vessels were enveloped in a cloud of steam. The crews of
3
the schooners got as far aft as they possibly could . . . Fortunately no
one was injured though an escape from an explosion was considered
wonderful.” (4)
A Place To Land
Between Stewarts Point and Point Arena there were a dozen or more
landings. At least five more south of Stewarts Point to Fort Ross and
no less than 10 more north of Point Arena to Mendocino. In our Sea
Ranch community there was one at Bihlers Point west of the Sea
Ranch Lodge, another at Del Mar Point and a third, briefly in the
vicinity of the area at the end of Fish Rock Road. This latter landing
was erected by farmer Joe Tongue.
There were two main methods of loading and unloading the
schooners where no wharf existed or even where a wharf did exist. One, the slide or apron chute was
composed of an “A” frame supporting a
wooden trough with cables. A system of
pulleys and wires allowed the chute to be
raised and lowered to allow gravity to
move the cargo on to a waiting ship. The
length of the chute depended on how far
away from shore a schooner could safely
anchor to be loaded. The chute had a
movable plank at the end which was
raised or lowered by a man using a lever
either on the ship or on the chute. It was
called a clapper and was intended to
facilitate the hand loading of the cargo by
a deckhand.
Another landing/loading method was the
wire chute. Here a wire cable was run
from shore to some type of anchorage beyond where the ship was moored. References to a ship being
“under the wire” indicates this is the approach used at a particular landing site. Cargo was strapped to
the wire and the weight of the load would cause it to descend toward the ship. A braking mechanism
would control the speed of the descent. Once unloaded on the ship or loaded with cargo for shore, a
system of rope/wires and pulleys would return it to land. A variation on this was the sling or trapeze
chute. Cargo or people were put in the sling and moved to and from the ship (top of page 4).
4
Although a few other methodologies were employed, just about
every landing used either or both of the above approaches. Some
employed steam power to move the apparatus. Some landings
also had wharves, but this was a luxury. Fort Ross had a small
wharf together with a slide chute. The 1889 Coast Pilot indicated
two wharves at Bournes Landing but pictures suggest the wharf
may have only been to facilitate the operation of the chutes.
Point Arena may have had the only viable wharf for actually
docking ships. Bihlers Landing mentioned above had two slide
chutes, Del Mar was a wire chute and Joe Tongue’s, a modified
wire chute using a steam powered swinging boom. The attached
1889 Coast Pilot chart lists our Mendonoma landings at that
point in time with some data about the activity which occurred at
those landings.
Besides the dangers of these coves, the schooner captain had to
deal with the unpredictable weather, namely storms, the wind
and their effect on the ocean. The captain would have to decide whether to ride the storm out at sea or
remain in port with additional mooring lines
anchoring the boat while he and the crew went
ashore. The importance of moorings in these
dangerous coves is worthy of note. Although the
doghole schooners and their crews were very adept
at getting into these tight landings, it was only
possible to get in so far. The ship would need to be
stabilized so the loading/unloading could take place.
Buoys were sited at various spots in the cove. They
were usually large logs with an anchor attached to
one end to hold the log in place. Crew members of a
vessel would then get in a rowboat with a line from
the ship coiled in the bottom. They would row to the buoy and attach the other end of the line to the
buoy end opposite the end with the anchor line. In rough seas, which ours often are, this could be very
challenging. Failing to hook the line on the buoy, put the schooner in danger of grounding or breaking up
on the rocks. Metal eye bolts set in rocks above the water line were also used for anchoring lines on
shore or in the cove.
Schooner Captains
“Make yourself thoroughly familiar with these instructions, and remember that on your coolness and
strict attention to them will greatly depend the chances of bringing you and your people safely to land.”
1889 Coast Pilot (5)
Schooner captains were often foreign born, having learned about sailing in their homeland and/or as
part of the crew on the vessel which brought them to the United States. The life stories for most of them
seem to be shrouded in the coastal fog in which they travelled. As a representation of the many men
who captained the ships which meant so much to sustaining the economic well-being of our coastal
towns, following is the story of one captain tied to events on our community’s coast.
5
Frank Bernard Zaddart was born on May 16, 1861 in Germany. The
various voter registrations of the 1890s described Zaddart as 5’ 6 1/4”,
fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. Around 1880 when he was
18 or 19 years old he left Germany eventually arriving in the United
States. More than likely he was a crew member on the vessel which
brought him to California. He became an American citizen on June 9th,
1886 and married Anna Gobel on February 28th, 1888. He and his wife
Anna settled on 17th Street in San Francisco close to Mission Bay which
is now filled in. At the time they lived there, it was not used any longer
for large ships because a bridge had been built across it to access
Potrero Hill and areas further south. They were close to his departure
location which was noted by an 1896 San Francisco directory to be on
the 3rd Street wharf. This is the area where A T & T Park is now located.
Later they moved closer to Golden Gate Park in the area where the
Castro District is today.
Most likely during the period he left Germany, through his Naturalization he was working as a seaman
and studying to become a master mariner, so he could captain a vessel. It appears he may have achieved
his goal shortly after he became a citizen. The first indication he achieved master mariner status was a
July 1, 1886 report in the Daily Alta California’s “Shipping Intelligence” section. It reported he arrived in
San Francisco on June 30th from Fish Rock with a load of lumber. He was 12 days at sea in command of
the Ester Cobos. He was only 25 years old. Arrival and departure notices suggest he was on the Ester
Cobos through most of 1887. He then had a short stint on the Christina Steffens at the end of 1887. In
January of 1888 he took command of the Reliance. On board the Reliance just a week after he was
married, he had a harrowing experience which reflects the closeness of the small crews on these ships
and illustrates the dangers inherent in attempting to attach or release a ship from buoys or mooring
lines. The event is related in excerpts from the March 7, 1888 Daily Alta California;
“The Reliance arrived at Rough and Ready on Tuesday. On Wednesday a good part of the lumber was
taken in, but on Thursday the wind sprung up from the southeast, and the schooner had to run out to
sea. Rough and Ready, as its name implies, is a peculiar place at any time, but especially so in a
southeast gale. The schooner got back to the buoy on Saturday. A line was made fast to it, and two
others taken ashore, and the
loading went on again. About 2
A.M. Sunday the wind sprung
up again from the southeast,
and increasing in heavy gusts,
warned Captain Zaddart to get
a good offing before it was too
late.” “. . . Fred Grannamann
and Pete Nelsen dropped into
the little sixteen-foot boat and
pulled to the buoy to let go the
line. The wind had increased so
much that they cut the shore
lines. They were casting off the
buoy line when a heavy squall
of wind, rain and hail struck
6
the schooner. The line ran through the buoy ring-bolt, hitched around the nose of the boat, jerked her
over until she half filled with water and then parted. The boat was adrift.” “. . . they were left with only
one (oar) in a boat half full of water, the gale and the sea rising. One . . . bailed the boat out with his hat
while the other kept her head to sea. It was no use trying to make the shore. . . so all the men could do
was to sit and paddle with their sticks” (torn from the boat’s floorboards after losing both oars). “It was
tedious, sickening work. . . “ “. . . they drifted for four hours, until the day broke and they could see Point
Arena lighthouse looming up.”
“The schooner Reliance finished loading on Monday. . . “ “Captain Zaddart said he had a hard time
when he lost the boat. They were unable to render any assistance to the boat and would not have
known where to look for her if they could” (because of the darkness and storm). “It was as much as he
could do with Louis, the cook, to manage the schooner, which is about seventy tons.” (Captain Zaddart)
“. . . made up his mind that he would never see the two men again.” One can imagine the elation when
the two men, rescued at Point Arena showed up at the local San Francisco watering hole, Wieser’s
boarding-house at Folsom street wharf. “The meeting between Captain Zaddart, Louis the cook, Fred
Grannamann and Pete Nelson was very affecting, and the quartette retold their stories over a good
many lager beers last night.”
Research suggests
one of Captain
Zaddart’s early
employers was the
Bender Brothers, a
partnership
announced in 1886 by
George and William
Bender. They referred
to themselves as
wholesale and retail
dealers of wood and
brick. To access north
coast timber, they acquired a sail schooner (pictured). On April 17, 1889 the Daily Alta California
announced; “At high water last night the new schooner Bender Brothers was launched from Alexander
Hay’s yard, at the foot of Sixth street. This fine-looking vessel is intended for the open port trade on this
coast, and is owned by Bender Brothers, after whom she is named. Her dimensions are: Length, 84 feet;
beam, 20 feet; depth of hold, 7 feet; with a carrying capacity of 120,000 feet of lumber. Captain Zaddart,
formerly of the schooner Reliance, will take command.”
The first order of business, however, appears to have been a race. Racing schooners was not that
uncommon. A number of references to such races are seen in the newspapers of the day. The Corinthian
Yacht Club founded in Tiburon in 1886 encouraged such races. The club remains in existence today and
still encourages such contests. Their website states; “. . . our club particularly favors the owner/racer
with volunteer crew . . .”
The Daily Alta California on April 29, 1889 commented; “There were two rather interesting races on the
bay, yesterday, between schooners. The vessels engaged in the contests were the Bender Brothers, the
Nettie Sanberg (sp) and the Portia. The first race was between the Bender Brothers and the Nettie
Sanberg (sp), from off Vallejo street wharf to the heads, a distance of about four miles. An easy victory
7
was gained by the Bender Brothers, which then raced the Portia back to a point off Sausalito. Again the
Bender Brothers easily won the race, which was for a purse of $500. The winning craft is owned by the
gentlemen after whom the schooner was named, while the Sanberg (sp) is owned by C.H. White and
others. The Portia was considered the fastest coasting schooner. Captain White felt very sore over his
defeat and challenged the Bender Brothers to a contest for $1000 a side. The challenge was accepted
and the race will take place tomorrow over a course of four miles from Vallejo street wharf to the
Golden Gate.”
Despite the glory brought on by her racing successes, the Bender Brothers was intended to be a working
ship for the lumbermen and, to that end, the first evidence it was used as such was on May 10, 1889
when Captain Zaddart departed San Francisco, returning on May 15th from Rough and Ready with 95
cords of wood for Bender Brothers. However, work did not prevent more racing.
The Nettie Sundberg (also spelled Sundborg) was named for Captain Sundberg’s daughter and he
apparently won quite a bit of money with her, but not against the Bender Brothers. Both ships were
built the same year. No evidence was found that the race for the $1000 purse ever occurred. However, a
grander race for a much smaller purse was held three months later. The Daily Alta on July 11, 1889
reports; “Captain Zaddart of the schooner Bender Bros. is rather jovial over the beating he gave the
schooner Nettie Sundberg, on the race up to Bihler’s Point. Both vessels left here last Friday morning on
the same tide. They got in at Bihler’s Point early next day, the Bender Bros. being one and a half hours
ahead. The distance is eighty-one miles and northwest winds prevailed on the trip, with a heavy sea and,
toward the end of it, dense fog. The Bender Bros. is eighty-one tons and the Sundberg sixty-three tons,
and the race was for $100 a side. It appears that the report of the schooner Maxim, on Friday, that the
Sundberg was ahead off Duxbury Reef, was not correct. Captain Zaddart says the Sundberg was at no
time ahead.”
Despite his apparent joy in the sporting aspect of being a schooner captain, Frank Zaddart spent a great
deal of time sailing the dangerous lumber landings of the Sonoma/Mendocino coast. He continued to
command the schooner Bender Brothers on frequent trips to the Sonoma/Mendocino Coast for lumber
products on behalf of the ship’s owners William and George Bender until, at least, 1893. He then took
over command of the Corinthian. One source (6) suggested this ship had once been the flagship of the
Commodore of the Corinthian Yacht Club, a fast boat, winning many pennants. It was then relegated to
hauling lumber, no doubt because it could earn much better money in that trade rather than racing.
Zaddart still made occasional trips on the Bender Brothers, such as a June 1897 trip to Timber Cove
(pictured) for a load of wood. Family-wise, he and wife Anna had four children, three of them living to
adulthood. The oldest of the three, William, was born around 1890, two years later daughter Elsie
arrived and by 1897 his namesake, Frank.
Steam schooners, by 1897, had become very prevalent.
Many of the little sail schooners had steam added
despite protests of the “old school” skippers and the
animosity which existed between their sail crews and
the new crew members added to tend the engines and
boilers. The schooners being built were quite a bit
larger than the sailing schooners and they all had
steam. They spent more time on the ocean and made
longer hauls. This was a step up for the sailing captains
and Captain Zaddart secured the necessary training
8
from the McNevin Brothers Navigation School. The March 27, 1897 Daily Alta California reported he
received his Master Mariner License which allowed him to sail any ocean and pilot San Francisco Bay. He
left the little sailing schooners and it appears the steamer South Coast may have been his first command
running a route from San Francisco to southern California. Then by 1900 he has moved to the San Pedro
making the trip to southern California as well as taking gold seekers north to Nome Alaska.
Around 1901 J.R. Hanify and Co., San Francisco shipping merchants, hired the veteran Captain Zaddart to
master their Santa Barbara, “. . . considered one of the best of the smaller coasting vessels running
between Los Angeles, (San Francisco) and Seattle.” The Santa Barbara built in 1900, is 170 feet long, is
695 tons and valued at $100,000. Although much too large for any doghole, on October 1, 1905 Captain
Zaddart made an unexpected and unintended landing at, maybe, the only doghole he didn’t visit when
he was sailing the coast years before. The October 2, 1905 San Francisco Call reports; “Every one was
asleep when the little vessel struck” (including Captain Zaddart who had left his mate in charge). “When
the crash came there was a wild scramble to the decks. At the first alarm Captain Frank Zaddart rushed
on deck and did his best to calm the frightened people. The vessel was jammed hard upon the rocks and
the breakers were booming ominously. ‘We are as safe as though we were on shore’, the captain
declared. ‘There is
positively no danger.’ But
the heavy seas rocked the
vessel and the lifeboat
was ordered launched.
Five women were
lowered into the boat and
pulled ashore through the
breakers. A stiff breeze
was blowing and the surf
was rolling high. The
rocks on which the Santa
Barbara struck are at the
base of a high cliff and
the landing was perilous.
Several times the
breakers threatened to
overwhelm the lifeboat.” The ship had “. . . struck on the chute near Del Mar Landing.” (From testimony
of the second mate as related in the October 20, 1905 San Francisco Call) Captain Zaddart was found
negligent and his license suspended for three months. The Santa Barbara was pulled off the rocks,
repaired and Captain Zaddart eventually, once again was put into command.
Sometime after the turn of the century the Zaddart family moved to Alameda which by then had
become firmly established as a shipping and ship building, repairing and mooring center. The canal
separating Oakland from Alameda had just been completed in 1902. Prior to that Alameda had actually
been a peninsula. The Zaddarts joined a large German community that had established itself on
Alameda. Frank’s two sons appear to have followed him into the maritime business while daughter Elsie
worked at various times as a clerk and a librarian. Captain Zaddart continued commanding the Santa
Barbara until 1919. After that he had a variety of assignments, including one in 1929 aboard the Anne
Hanify, most likely named for a child, spouse or other relative of the man who put him in charge of the
Santa Barbara. Anna Zaddart died sometime before 1930, probably about the time Frank and daughter
9
Elsie moved from Alameda to Piedmont. Elsie doesn’t appear to have ever married, staying with her
father until he died in 1937 or 1938.
The Klamath
Like the Santa Barbara, the Klamath was also a merchant steam vessel. It was built in Fairhaven
California for the McCormick Steamship Company. It was larger at 1,083 tons, 201.5 feet long and 41.6
feet wide. It carried merchandise, often lumber, and passengers with a crew of 32. The Klamath could
haul 1,200,000 feet of lumber and had accommodations for sixty passengers.
In 1901 when Captain Frank Zaddart had taken command of the Santa Barbara, his first officer was 25
year old Thomas Jamieson. He was born in Scotland and lived in San Francisco in Potrero Hill. He also
appears to have maintained an address at the Ferry Building, possibly some type of listing service for
mariners looking for work or desiring to become a vessel master. Unlike Zaddart information is lacking
on Thomas Jamieson. Census reports seem to show him as part of a family headed by his widowed
mother and including his siblings. He appears to be the only one who chose the sea for his career. The
1900 census shows the family in Berkeley, then they’re in the Los Angeles area for the next four census
tallys. In 1940 he is shown as the head of the household after his mother died. Perhaps by then he had
retired, he was 65, had left San Francisco and had actually moved in with the rest of his siblings. It
appears he never married.
As of 1916 he had not taken command of the Klamath (8). The Klamath made stops from San Pedro to
the Columbia River area of Washington including stops at Cape Mendocino and Portland. When Captain
Jamieson took over the Klamath is uncertain, but as the Klamath left San Francisco for Portland on
February 4, 1921, with cargo, 19 passengers and a crew of 34 he was at the helm. February, by many
considered the worst month for weather delivered some of its worst that night. Like Zaddart on the
Santa Barbara, Captain Jamieson left his mate to carry on alone. Within two hours of departing San
Francisco winds had increased to 75 miles per hour causing the ship to struggle against it. A heavy
rainstorm reduced visibility considerably. Breakers were seen too late. Instantly upon sighting them, the
ship hit the rocks. Jamieson upon coming on the bridge realized the ship was off course. He gave orders
to pull the ship back, but the action caused the vessel to hit more rocks destroying its propeller and
shaft.
The captain decided the ship couldn’t be saved so he called crew and passengers on deck. Apparently he
decided against life boats. “Often . . . a
dangerous surf is running which is not
perceptible four hundred yards off
shore, and the surf when viewed from a
vessel never appears as dangerous as it
is. Many lives have unnecessarily been
lost by the crews of stranded vessels
being thus deceived and attempting to
land in the ship’s boats. “
“Circumstances may arise, owing to the
strength of the current . . . or the danger
of the wreck breaking up immediately . .
. “ “In such a case a breeches-buoy or
life-car will be hauled off instead . . . and
10
you will be hauled ashore through the surf.”
(1889 Coast Pilot) (5)
An SOS was sent and picked up by the Curacao
and the Everett, but upon arriving they could
do nothing and sat by helplessly. Seaman
Charles Svenson took the line for the breeches
buoy ashore. After rigging it up passengers and
crew were brought ashore. A problem arose
with a baby, Phil Buckley. It was resolved by
putting the infant in a garbage can and tying
the can to the back of another seaman who
then brought the boy ashore in that manner.
The Klamath itself wasn’t so lucky. Attempts to
free it failed. Salvage crews took what they could and the ocean took the rest.
Postscript
Some Local Color
We already mentioned the 1893 travails encountered by the Archie and Fontie, but for a decade after
that string of misfortune, the 77 foot sail schooner maneuvered the dangerous doghole ports along the
coast. She eventually met her end at Fisk’s Mill. The April 9,1902 San Francisco Call reported; “The trim
little lumber schooner Archie and Fontie was driven ashore and totally wrecked in Sunday night’s storm
at Fisks Mill . . . “ She was tied up at the moorings near the end of the lumber chute when the storm
broke. So suddenly did the gale spring up that those on board the vessel were unable to get her clear of
the moorings. Fisks Mill is a bad place in heavy weather , and when storms threaten, vessels usually run
for the open sea. Sunday night’s storm broke without warning, and those aboard had all they could do
to save their lives. They reached shore by climbing along the lumber chute . . . “
H.A. Richardson owned other schooners such as the Gracie Belle
Richardson, named for his daughter. It was about the same size as the
Archie and Fontie, also built in Benicia and used in the lumber trade.
She met her fate, at home, in Stewarts Point when her captain
decided to stay moored instead of making for the open sea to ride out
an approaching storm. Her lines broke and she cracked up on the
rocks.
Captain Niels Iversen (of the Iversen Landing doghole port and today’s
Iversen Road) also named vessels after his children. First Annie built in
1869 ending her life five years later at Point Arena in 1874, then
Arthur built 20 years later in San Francisco. The 90 foot long schooner
sailed for 20 years before wrecking at Iversen’s Landing while trying to
get to sea in a storm. One man died in this wreck.
Bill The Butcher was named for William Bihler a German immigrant
who settled in San Francisco during the Gold Rush days and made
quite a bit of money as a butcher fulfilling the great demand for beef
at inflated prices, a similar situation to what lumbermen were doing
11
with the price of wood products. Bihler acquired significant acreage, including what would become Sea
Ranch, to raise his own cattle. Since much of his property was timber, he established Bihler Landing at
the settlement called Black Point after he got into the lumber business. Bill The Butcher made frequent
trips to Bowen’s Landing shown above where she wrecked in 1893 when her lines broke driving her into
the rocks. She was refloated but capsized off Point Reyes on her way in for repairs. Eventually the
schooner was towed in to Oakland Creek (probably San Antonio Creek between the Alameda peninsula
at that time and Oakland). However, no further news of her was found. Possibly she was too badly
damaged for repairs or was sold and renamed.
The lumber business of William and George Bender went into receivership in 1904. The last reference
found of the Bender Brothers schooner hauling lumber along the Mendonoma coast was in 1905. It was
converted to steam power and sometime in 1906 or 1907 it was acquired by a C.C. Lutjens of Alameda.
In October of 1907 he reported it grounded around Kuskokwim Bay with a load of general merchandise
and furs. It apparently was refloated because the November 22, 1910 San Francisco Call indicated it was
in the Bering Sea when the volcano Shishaldin on Unimak Island was erupting. It’s heard from again on
its arrival on October 8, 1912 in Seattle when it reported whale carcasses adrift in the Bering Sea
hampering navigation. In 1913 when owned by J.E. Shields of Seattle, it provided the first record of any
commercial salmon fishing in Kuskokwim Bay. The last record found of the little schooner indicated it
was nearly destroyed by fire in Seattle on December 1, 1913.
The ships and their crews battling the dangerous coves of our coast provide an exciting chapter to our
coastal history. Today, Looking at the commercial and private fishing vessels floating peacefully well off
the coast makes the story of the doghole schooners seem like, just that, a story created by a vivid
imagination.
12
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Annals of San Francisco
Frank Soule
John H. Gihon
Kessinger Publishing
2. Early History of the San Francisco Fire Department
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/fire.html
The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
3. The Doghole Schooners
By Walter A. Jackson
Copyright 1969
Republished 1977
Bear and Stebbins
P.O. Box 922
Mendocino, Cal. 95460
4. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
The Library of Congress
Chronicling America
Historic American Newspapers
5. Coast Pilot of California, Oregon, and Washington
By George Davidson, Assistant U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
Fourth Edition 1889
6. Nannie Escola Scrapbook Collection
Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, California
“Mendocino Ships A-Z”
7. Alameda: A Geographical History
Imelda Merlin
Copyright 1977
Sixth edition
Excel Graphics
Alameda, California
8. Rorvik v. North Pac. Lumber Co.
190 Pac. 331; 195 Pac. 163
January 25, 1921 Multnomah, Oregon
Judge Robert Tucker
Concerning the 8/3/1916 death of C.P. Rorvik, Captain of the Klamath
9. Alaska Shipwrecks
http://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-b/
13
10. The Old Salt Point Township
Sonoma County, California, 1841-1941
By Lynn Hay Rudy
Copyright 2009
Lynn Hay Rudy, The Hay Press
11. Ships of The Redwood Coast
Jack McNairn
Jerry MacMullen
Stanford University Press
Stanford, Californis
Copyright 1945
12. The Veridian Digital Library
http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc
California Digital Newspaper Collection
13. “. . . it is a dangerous-looking place”
Sailing Days On The Redwood Coast
By Karl Kortum and Roger Olmsted
Published for the Pacific Lumber Company
By The California Historical Society March, 1971
14. Disaster Log of Ships
By Jim Gibbs
Bonanza Books – New York
15. Images of America
The Sea Ranch
By Susan M. Clark
Arcadia Publishing
Copyright 2009
Special Thanks To
Susan Clark for sharing her extensive knowledge of our coast’s history, encouraging my curiosity and for
the unique picture of the Klamath as well as the Walter Tock information.
Nancy Freeze, Executive Director of the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino for assistance with my
research and the wonderful pictures.
Jack Likins, a veteran Mendonoma Coast diver for pictures and research on the Klamath and for rescuing
some very interesting artifacts.
14
PICTURE SOURCES
Page
1. San Francisco Fire of 1850
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/fire.html
The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
1. Fourth Street Dock 1897
Work on Land & Water, 1880-1920
From www.foundsf.org
Historical Essay By Nancy J. Olmsted
Image: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Museum (A12.29.727n)
2. Archie and Fontie
Bibliography 3
3. Nip and Tuck by most sources, Hardscratch by one (Bibliography 13)
Courtesy of the Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, Ca.
Steamer Gualala loading lumber
Courtesy of the Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, Ca.
4. The Electra and the Alfred riding a storm out in Mendocino
Family departing the Irene in Noyo
Both courtesy of the Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, Ca.
5. Captain Zaddart
October 4, 1905 San Francisco Call
Bibliography 4
Rough and Ready also known as Iversen’s Landing or Ferguson’s Cove
Bibliography 3
6. The Bender Brothers Schooner
Courtesy of the Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, Ca.
7. Timber Cove
Bibliography 3
8. Wreck of the Santa Barbara
Courtesy of the Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, Ca.
15
9. Klamath Stranded
Donated by Jack Likins
Courtesy The Sea Ranch Archives
10. Klamath Wreck
Bibliography 11
The Archie and Fontie
April 9, 1902 San Francisco Call
Bibliography 4
11. Bourns Landing
Courtesy of the Kelley House Museum
Mendocino, Ca.
16
THE 1889 COAST PILOT
This book was a navigational guide to ships travelling the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.
Excerpts from its information on Bihler’s Point is typical of the descriptions provided: “. . . a doubleheaded point with steep cliffs fifty to sixty feet high, and bordered by numerous rocks above water.
Under the southern of the two points is a very contracted and poor anchorage open from northwest to
southeast; a rocky islet on the south shore makes this cove the narrowest on the coast. The threefathom line reaches in very nearly to the rocky islet. There are two chutes, of which the inner one is not
used and the outer one seems a fair place to load at. This chute extends from the bluff to twenty-three
feet of water, and a vessel lies broadside to the end with six mooring-lines. There are breakers close
under the starboard bow of the vessel at the chute. There are three mooring buoys. The inner one of
them is one hundred yards southeast of the outer chute, and lies in five or six fathoms of water, with a
rock above water thirty yards northeast and a sunken rock with eleven feet upon it seventy yards
southeast. The outermost buoy lies in ten fathoms two hundred and twenty yards south by east . . .
from the inner one, and the third buoy lies between this outer one and the northwest point of the cove.
This is a summer landing only, and an average of five small schooners per month load wood, posts, tanbark, and stave-bolts. Three vessels may lie at anchor in the cove but the place is dangerous from
October to June.”
Notes On The Chart
Information is primarily from the 1889 Coast Pilot
Landing Sites
These are the landings from Fort Ross to Point Arena mentioned in the 1889 Coast Pilot. Over the years
landings came and went. Our Del Mar Landing is not mentioned in this volume, but it is mentioned in
the 1917 version; “Del Marr (sp) Landing is located 5 miles northwestward from Black Point, and 2 miles
southeastward from the Gualala River. It is unprotected, and wire cable is used for loading.” This
suggests there may still have been some use of the landing even though the lumber mill had burnt seven
years earlier. Walter Jackson’s map (3) shows a Scott’s Landing and a Buster’s Landing south of Point
Arena, but no mention of them appears in this guide.
Buoys and Mooring Lines
Where there is a question mark no information was given but certainly buoys and/or mooring lines
existed.
Summer and winter use
Newspaper information on arrivals to and departures from San Francisco which included coastal
landings visited, made it clear schooners travelled the coast every month of the year despite the
limitations suggested here.
17
Products
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Lumber
Tan Bark
Posts
Railroad Ties
Cord Wood – at times only “wood” is mentioned which might mean lumber as well.
Produce
Shingles
Stave Bolts
Passengers also travelled on these vessels. Usually they would disembark only at Point Arena and
Mendocino.
Chutes
References in the Coast Pilot were generally to “chutes”. These are recorded on the chart as trough
chutes, but some could have been wire or a combination of trough and wire.
T – Trough
W- Wire
Z - Trapeze
Wharfs
Shows number
Annual Shiploads
Where mentioned.
Wrecks
These are the ones listed in Walter Jackson’s book, which are only sail schooners. A few found in the
1889 Coast Pilot are also included. Steamships such as the Klamath wrecked on our coast are not
included. The book “Ships of The Redwood Coast” on steam schooners suggests another 10 could be
added to this list. Many of the steam schooners were too large for any of the landings along
Mendonoma. When they were wrecked it was often the result of a storm or miscalculation about
distance to shore by the crew.
Miles From Fort Ross
These are ocean miles, not road miles.
18
19
20