Storms have caused amazing discoveries on the Southern Oregon Coast, Ocean Beach near Coos Bay and North Bend. The sand has been washing away exposing shipwrecks from times past. People are flocking to the area to see what the Sea has exposed.

A steamship called the Sujameco, that went aground over 70 years ago back in 1929, has been uncovered by recent storms. The steamship sits in the surf at Horsfall Beach. Watch the video from KEZI about the ship.

We've assembled a whole cache of links below for you to explore: Stories, Photos, Videos, Blogs & a Map of the George L. Olson Shipwreck Location.

The wooden hulled ship buried in sand on the North Spit of Coos Bay has been identified by archeologists as the George L. Olson.

A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) archeologist, staff from Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and the Coos County Historical Museum, and the Maritime Heritage Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted research over the past several weeks that included examining construction documents and historic photographs, as well as interviewing local community members in hopes of identifying the shipwreck.

This research suggests there is strong evidence that the mystery shipwreck is the steam schooner George L. Olson. Comparing historical photographs of the George L. Olson with current pictures of the shipwreck, both ships have three portholes with three chain plates aft of the portholes. The location of the Samson Post, Hawespipes, and the black vertical bumpers are identical. The pattern made by the through hull iron fasteners also appears identical.

The George L. Olson worked as a lumber carrying schooner in the Northwest for over 20 years until June 23, 1944 when it struck Coos Bay's North Jetty and drifted aground on Guano Rock inside the Coos Bay channel. There were no casualties when the ship wrecked, but the ship was declared a total loss. At the time it wrecked, the George L. Olson was loaded with about 1.4 million board feet of lumber.

Salvage of the ship's lumber cargo was conducted for the next six months. Five hundred thousand board feet of lumber recovered off of the ship was used to construct the Baptist Church in Charleston, Oregon.

In December 1944, the hulk of the George L. Olsonwas towed to sea and was cut adrift with the intention she beach on the North Spit. During the following years, build-up of the foredune in the area covered the wreck.

Photos of the Shipwreck | Photo Slide Show
Map of Shipwreck Area (PDF)
Snowy Plover Season Changes Access to Olson Shipwreck
Narrated Video (YouTube.com)
Narrated Video (kezi.com)
Travel Oregon Blog
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