Wawona (schooner)

Wawona
Wawona, 2009
History
United States
BuilderHans Ditlev Bendixsen, near Eureka, California
Out of service1948
FateDismantled, 2009
General characteristics
Class and typeFore-and-aft schooner
Length165 feet (50 m)
Beam35 feet (11 m)
Draft12 feet (3.7 m)
Wawona (schooner)
Wawona, 2007
LocationSeattle, Washington
Coordinates47°37′37″N 122°20′10″W / 47.62694°N 122.33611°W / 47.62694; -122.33611
Built1897
ArchitectHans Bendixsen
NRHP reference No.70000643[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP1 July 1970
Designated SEATL14 March 1977[2]

Wawona was an American three-masted, fore-and-aft schooner that sailed from 1897 to 1947 as a lumber carrier and fishing vessel based in Puget Sound. She was one of the last survivors of the sailing schooners in the West Coast lumber trade to San Francisco from Washington, Oregon, and Northern California.

She was an iconic ship representing the Pacific Northwest's maritime history. After a 50-year career at sea, she was laid up for 16 years until efforts to preserve her began in 1963.[3] Purchased in 1964 by Northwest Seaport, she became a museum ship for 45 years at Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), being berthed at their pier at Lake Union Park[4] with continuous restoration efforts until rot and beetle infestations put her beyond repair.[3] Dismantled in 2009, some of her wood and steel was reformed into a sculpture at the MOHAI in 2012 and will be preserved there for the future.[4]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "Landmarks and Designation". City of Seattle. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  3. ^ a b Lacitis, Erik (5 March 2009). "Historic schooner Wawona heads for demise". www.seattletimes.com. Seattle Times. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b "WAWONA / MOHAI, Seattle, WA". John Grade Studio. Retrieved 2023-08-10.