ASTORIA-WARRENTON -- More than a century of water-logged history sits on the beach at Fort Stevens Park on the Oregon Coast.

The shipwreck of the Peter Iredale on Clatsop Spit is one of the most popular  attractions in the area.

The Iredale, named for its British owner, ran aground Oct. 25, 1906, and has been whittled by waves since.

The four-masted barque had sailed from Salina, Cruz, Mexico, and was en route to the Columbia River when it encountered “heavy squalls” and a “thick mist,” according to a transcript from a naval court hearing later that year.

One “exceedingly heavy northwest squall” slammed into the Ireland, and all of its 27-member crew was evacuated by an Oregon crew from nearby Hammond.

But the Iredale, built in England in 1890, couldn’t be repaired.  Black-and-white photos from the digital collection of the University of Washington Library show damage to the steel plates and iron frame of the 2,075-ton ship.

Most of the metal was sold for scrap.  A dramatic skeleton remains, drawing photographers from dawn to sunset.

For more information about  the ship at its prime go to  http://www.iredale.de/maritime/peter.htm.

Photo by Hadi Dadashian