Appendix D

Cultural Resources

February 2012
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA

Appendix D

Cultural Resources

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................................D-1

Prehistoric Potential......................................................................................................................D-1

Historic Period ..............................................................................................................................D-3

Shipwrecks of the Coastal Trade ..............................................................................................D-3

Shipwrecks in the Yaquina Bay Area .......................................................................................D-3

Potential for Recovery of Shipwrecks.......................................................................................D-3

Conclusions...................................................................................................................................D-6

References.....................................................................................................................................D-7

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure D-1. Yaquina Bay Proposed North and South Ocean Disposal Sites...............................D-2

Figure D-2. Map of Wrecks and Obstructions from Multipurpose Marine Cadastre ..................D-5

Table D-1. Documented Shipwrecks in the Yaquina Bay Area...................................................D-4

Table D-2. Other Shipwrecks in the Yaquina Bay Area ..............................................................D-5
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-1

Appendix D

Cultural Resources

Introduction

This appendix evaluates the cultural resource potential at the proposed Yaquina North and South 

ocean disposal sites on the central Oregon coast. The study area was set as an arc transcribed 4.5 

nautical miles out from the entrance to Yaquina Bay and ends both north and south at the beach

(Figure D-1). The proposed action consists of final designation of the two proposed ocean

dredged material disposal sites (ODMDS) located offshore of Yaquina Bay. The proposed North 

ODMDS is located about 2 nautical miles west of Newport and the entrance to Yaquina Bay. The 

proposed South ODMDS is located about 2.7 nautical miles southwest of the bay’s entrance. Both 

ocean disposal sites are 4,000 feet wide by 6,500 feet long, about 597 acres, and their depths range 

from about 112 to 152 feet.

The proposed Yaquina ocean disposal sites have the following corner coordinates [North 

American Datum (NAD 83)]:

North ODMDS

44° 38’ 17.98” N, 124° 07’ 25.95” W

44° 38’ 12.86” N, 124° 06’ 31.10” W

44° 37’ 14.33” N, 124° 07’ 37.57” W

44° 37’ 09.22” N, 124° 06’ 42.73” W

South ODMDS

44° 36’ 04.50” N, 124° 07’ 52.66” W

44° 35’ 59.39” N, 124° 06’ 57.84” W

44° 35’ 00.85” N, 124° 08’ 04.27” W

44° 34’ 55.75” N, 124° 07’ 09.47” W

Prehistoric Potential

The probability of substantial prehistoric cultural resources within the vicinity of Yaquina Bay is

very low. It is possible that prehistoric Native Americans may have used portions of the area, 

such as the Yaquina south reefs, as an offshore fishery. Evidence suggesting this activity is 

present at sites along the Oregon coast. For example, the remains of small numbers of fish 

favoring reef type habitats, such as lingcod, cabazon and black rockfish, have been recovered in 

middens at Netarts, Seal Rock (1, 2) and Cape Perpetua (Ruth Greenspand, personal 

communication). The subsistence value of these reef fish is uncertain as these middens were

dominated by a faunal assemblage composed primarily of rock mollusks, seals, sea lions and land 

mammal bones. However, the comparatively small numbers of reef fish bones offers little support 

for an intensive prehistoric offshore fishery. The literature does indicate the importance of estuary 

resources, such as crab, oyster, and flounder for local ethnographical known Native Americans (4, 

5); for comparison with the Coos Bay Native Americans, see Simons (6).
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-2

Figure D-1. Yaquina Bay Proposed North and South Ocean Disposal Sites
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-3

Even in an area where a maritime fishery is suggested, the likelihood of recovering procurement 

technology from the project area is minimal. For example, artifacts analyzed as part of a fishing 

technology were identified at the Par-Tee site in Seaside, Oregon. Implements included eyed fish 

hook, hook barbs, and perforated stone disc (fishing weights). However, the setting in which these 

implements were used is not clear, as the faunal analysis refers only to fish remains not to species

(7). Therefore, designation of the proposed Yaquina ocean disposal sites should not affect any 

significant prehistoric cultural resources.

Historic Period

A review of the history in the vicinity of Yaquina Bay shows that shipwrecks and their remnants 

exist within the project area. In general, the majority of documented shipwrecks occurred from

1849-1895 (7, 8). This period covers the establishment and closure of the Siletz Indian 

Reservation, early Euro-American settlement, initiation of the local export economy, and the 

construction of jetties and other navigation improvements by the Corps of Engineers (5, 8, 9, 10). 

It is also possible that wrecks of earlier periods, for example vessels engaged in coastal 

exploration and the fur trade, may appear within the project area. In addition, numerous Chinese 

junks (ships) and Japanese boats have drifted from the Asian mainland and washed ashore on the 

Pacific Northwest coast.

Shipwrecks of the Coastal Trade

During the 1849-1895 period, schooners and barks engaged in the coastal trade transported 

supplies for coastal settlements and their respective export products. Typically, these vessels 

operated in harbors too shallow for deeper draft vessels or where the amount of goods or export 

products did not justify the use of larger vessels. At first, the vessels carrying these goods 

depended on sail power. Later developments included supplementing the sail with steam, steam 

powered vessels, and the use of steam powered tugs to tow sailing vessels from harbors into the 

ocean shipping lanes. Ships powered by sail operated along the coast through the 1920s.

Shipwrecks in the Yaquina Bay Area

Table D-1 lists the shipwrecks that have occurred in the Yaquina Bay area. The table includes the 

name of the vessel, mode of power, cargo, date of wreck, location of wreck, the final location of 

wreck, and source(s) of information. In addition, NOAA Office of Coast Survey has documented 

five shipwrecks in the nearshore area of Yaquina Bay (Figure D-2). There are references to other 

vessels said to have wrecked in the vicinity of Yaquina Bay (Table D-2). These wrecks were not 

included in Table D-1 because there were problems concerning the reliability of the information 

(quality of the reference), or lack of pertinent location information or name of vessel. These 

wrecks are mentioned, however, because they do indicate the possibility of undocumented wrecks 

within the Yaquina area.

Potential for Recovery of Shipwrecks

The most likely area for documenting remnants of coasting vessels is South Beach. This

assumption is supported by the pattern of wrecks deposited on South Beach by the local Yaquina 

Bay currents. Of the seven vessels wrecked at the bar, five are reported to have been carried to 

South Beach by inshore currents (two vessels were towed to this location). This suggests that 

other vessels not documented by the literature search (especially those earlier than 1850) may be 

present on the beach.
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-4

Table D-1. Documented Shipwrecks in the Yaquina Bay Area

Date of

Shipwreck

Name

(type) Cargo Location of Wreck(Fate of Wreck) References

Mar. 1849

(1852) JULIET Oysters Yaquina Bay (drifted to South Beach, wreck burned)

(13) Wright 1895:43

(14) Gibbs 1957:275

Nov. 25, 1853 JOSEPH WARREN

(Bark) Oysters Beached short distance south of Yaquina Bay

(13) Wright 1895:50

(14) Gibbs 1957:276

Mar. 11, 1862 [LARRY] DOYLE

(Schooner) Oysters Yaquina Bay (13) Wright 1895:144(8) Fagan 1885:482

Oct. 13, 1864

(Oct. 19, 1864 Gibbs)

CORNELIA TERRY

(Schooner) Oysters Yaquina Bay

(13) Wright 1895:130

(14) Gibbs 1957:277

(5) Beckham 1977:160

Mar. 11, 1865 [ANNA] DOYLE

(Schooner) Yaquina Bay Bar

(13) Wright 1895:144

(14) Gibbs 1957:277

(15) Fogarty 1980:67

Feb. 16, 1865

(1876 Fagan)

LIZZIE

(Schooner)

Oysters

Hides

Yaquina Bay Bar

(South Beach)

(13) Wright 1895:246

(8) Fagan 1885:482

(16) Hays 1976:64

(15) Fogarty 1980:67

Apr. 5, 1874

CAROLINE

MEDEAU

(Schooner)

Oysters Yaquina Bay Bar

(South Beach, salvaged)

(13) Wright 1895:246

(8) Fagan 1885:482

(14) Gibbs 1957:279

(15) Fogarty 1980:67

Sept. 26, 1874 ONA

(Steam Schooner)

Yaquina Bay North Spit 

(grounded on South Beach)

(17) Powell 1884:2266

(13) Wright 1895:314

(14) Gibbs 1957:279

(15) Fogarty 1980:67

Dec. 4, 1887 YAQUINA CITY

(Steamship)

Yaquina Bay

(beached on South Beach)

(13) Wright 1895:350

(12) Holcombe 1893(4):3363

Annual Report of the Chief

 of Engineers 1900(5):4299

(14) Gibbs 1957:282

(15) Fogarty 1980:68

Dec. 19

(Dec. 9, 1888 Gibbs)

YAQUINA BAY

(Steam Schooner)

Wrecked on south jetty 

(vessel towed and beached 

on South Beach)

(13) Wright 1895:360

(18) Hyell 1891:3193

(12) Holcombe 1893(4):3363

(14) Gibbs 1957:282

(15) Fogarty 1980:68

Dec. 8, 1891 MAGGIE ROSS

(Steamship) Lumber Off Oregon Coast (wreck towed to Yaquina Bay)

(13) Wright 1895:394

(14) Gibbs 1957:283

Dec. 11

GENERAL

BUTLER

(Bark)

Lumber

100 miles SW Cape Argo, 

parts of hull drifted into 

Yaquina and took out 80 

feet of south jetty.

(13) Wright 1895:394

(14) Gibbs 1957:283
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-5

Figure D-2. Map of Wrecks and Obstructions from Multipurpose Marine Cadastre

See http://www.marinecadastre.gov. Data is from NOAA Office of Coast Survey 

(http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsd/AWOIS_download.html).

Table D-2. Other Shipwrecks in the Yaquina Bay Area

Date of

Shipwreck

Name

(type) Cargo Location of Wreck(Fate of Wreck) References

Early 1849 Unknown

Chinese silk - cargo 

salvaged by Indians 

and settlers

Yaquina vicinity (19) Dye 1941:227

Late 1873 John Hunter Unknown Yaquina (wrecked on beach) (8) Fagan 1885:482

Dec. 1892 Unknown Unknown

Capsized derelict vessel drifted 

into Yaquina Bay between 

jetties - took out portions of 

construction tramway.

Annual Report of 

Chief of Engineers 

1892(3):2699

Nov. 24, 1904 Quickstep 

(barquentine) Unknown Unknown (19) Marshall 1984

Jan. 1, 1912 Pilgram (sloop) Unknown Unknown (19) Marshall 1984

Feb. 20, 1935 Yaquina (US Coast 

Guard patrol boat) N/A

Lost while attempting to aid the 

crew of a barge caught on 

Yaquina Bar.

(19) Marshall 1984

Feb. 26, 1935 Parker #2 (dredge) N/A Unknown (19) Marshall 1984

Sept. 13, 1945 Dorothy Joan Unknown Unknown (19) Marshall 1984

Dec. 11, 1946 Etta Kay (schooner) Unknown Unknown (19) Marshall 1984

Apr. 22 1948 John Aspin

(cargo ship) Unknown As of 1986, portions of hull still visible at low tide. (19) Marshall 1984

Jun. 25, 1953 Captain Ludvig Unknown Unknown (19) Marshall 1984

Nov. 19, 1983 Blue Magpie

(cargo ship) Unknown Unknown (19) Marshall 1984
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-6

Survival of these vessels on the beach is another important problem. Wrecked vessels were 

frequently burned in order to recover scrap metal or salvaged for their useful materials. For 

instance, the schooner JULIET is reported to have been burned. Burned vessel sites may be 

relocated by magnetometer surveys.

In general, the exact locations of beached vessels are not recorded. However, at Yaquina, the 

location of the wreck of the steamship YAQUINA BAY was noted in the Annual Reports to the 

Chief of Engineers. Assistant Engineer Holcombe used the location of the wreck as a bearing 

point, while commenting on the rate of sand accretion behind the south jetty (12). This site may 

be relocated based on this information.

Although the pattern of wreck locations suggests that ocean currents deposit wrecks on South 

Beach, it is also possible that wrecks are still present on the ocean floor. The likelihood of this 

event is dependent on a number of variables such as type of material the vessel is constructed of 

and its cargo (wood vessels will drift farther than steel, depending on the degree of hull damage). 

One shipwreck on Yaquina reef, the JOSEPH ASPEDAL, was a concrete barge sunk in the 1940s.

Another factor, environment of the wreck site (ocean current patterns and the types of materials

composing the ocean floor), may be important. For example, wrecks in rock reefs may be held for 

longer periods of time than wrecks on the ocean floor with smooth, harder surfaces. The area to 

the south of the south jetty (between the reef and beach) is a continuous sand bottom; no wrecks 

have been observed in that area.

Conclusions

Prehistoric cultural resources are unlikely to be found within the offshore area. It is possible that 

prehistoric Native Americans may have used portions of the Yaquina offshore reefs as a fishery. 

Any remaining remnants of prehistoric fishing activity are unlikely or not retrievable. Shipwrecks 

are the most probable cultural resources expected to exist within the offshore area. Historical 

review indicates several recorded wrecks offshore of Yaquina Bay. It is possible that unrecorded 

wrecks exist elsewhere in the nearshore area. In July 2000, a side-scan sonar survey was 

conducted by Williamson & Associates (20) over a large area in and around the proposed Yaquina 

North and South ocean disposal sites. No shipwrecks or other historic remnants were detected 

from this survey. The NOAA has documented shipwrecks around the Yaquina Bay jetties. In 

summary, based on historical information and survey information, it is unlikely that significant 

cultural resources are within the proposed North and South ocean disposal sites nor would any 

significant cultural resources be affected by the proposed designation.
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-7

References

(1) Barner, D.C. 1982. Shell and Archaeology: An Analysis of Shellfish Procurement and

Utilization on the Central Oregon Coast. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, Oregon State University,

Corvallis.

(2) Zontek, T. 1983. Aboriginal Fishing at Seal Rock, 35-LNC-14 and Neptune 35-LA-3; Late 

Prehistoric Archeological Sites on the Oregon Coast. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, Oregon State 

University, Corvallis.

(3) Ross. R.E. 1983. Archeological Sites and Surveys on the North and Central Coast of Oregon.

In Prehistoric Places on the Southern Northwest Coast, R.E. Greengo, ed. Seattle: Thomas 

Burke Memorial Washington State Museum, p. 213.

(4) Talbot, T.W. 1980. From the Journals of Lieut. Theodore Talbot, U.S.A. on his Journey 

through Lincoln County and along the Oregon Coast in 1849. A Reprinting of Five Early 

Publications of the Lincoln County Historical Society, Leslie L. Haskin, ed. Lincoln County 

Historical Society, Newport, OR.

(5) Beckham, S.D. 1977. The Indians of Western Oregon. This Land was Theirs. Coos Bay: Arago 

Books.

(6) Simons, A. 1983. Cultural Resources in the Pacon Graving Dock Project Area. Unpublished 

report on file at the Corps of Engineers, Portland District, Portland, OR.

(7) Phebus, G. and R.M. Drucker. 1971. Archeological Investigations of Seaside, Oregon: An 

Intermediate Report on the Excavations of Two major Archeological Sites at Seaside, Oregon, 

through September 1977. Vol 1, No. 1. Sponsored by the Seaside Museum and Historical 

Society (Figure 2).

(8) Fagan, D.D. 1885 History of Benton County Oregon . . . etc. Portland: A.G. Walling printer.

(9) Mills, R.V. 1950. Railroads Down the Valley: Some Short Lines of the Oregon Country. Palo 

Alto, Pacific Books.

(10) Willingham, W.F. 1983. Army Engineers and the Development of Oregon. A History of the 

Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Government Printing Office, Washington, 

D.C.

(11) Beals, H.K. and H. Steele. 1981. Chinese Porcelains from site 35-T1-1, Netarts Sand Spit, 

Tillamook County, Oregon. University of Oregon Anthropological Papers, Vol. 23. Eugene.

(12) Holcombe, J.G. 1893. Yaquina Bay, (4):3363. Report of Mr. J.G. Holcombe. Annual Report 

of the Chief of Engineers. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

(13) Wright, E.W. 1895. Lewis and Dryden’s Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. The Lewis 

and Dryden Printing Company, Portland, OR (pp. 43-394).
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-8

(14) Gibbs, J. 1968. West Coast Windjammers in Story and Pictures. Seattle: Superior Publishing 

Company.

(15) Fogarty, J. 1980. Some History of Early-Day Steamboating on Yaquina Bay in Lincoln

County Lore. A Reprinting of Five Early Publications of the Lincoln County Historical

Society, Leslie L. Haskin, ed. Lincoln County Historical Society, Newport, OR.

(16) Hayes, M.M. 1976. The Land that Kept Its Promise. Newport: Lincoln County Historical

Society.

(17) Powell, CPT. 1884. Improvement of Entrance to Yaquina Bay, Oregon, (3)2266. Annual 

Report of the Chief of Engineers. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

(18) Hyell, G.A. 1891. Yaquina Bay. Report of Mr. Gwynn A. Hyell, Assistant Engineer,

(4):3193. Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers. Government Printing Office, Washington 

D.C.

(19) Dye, E.E. 1941. Boone Family Reminiscences, Oregon Historical Quarterly 42:220-229. 

Salem: Statesman Publishing Co.

(20) Marshall, D. 1984. Oregon Shipwrecks. Binford & Mort, Portland, OR.

(21) Williamson & Associates, Inc. July 2000. Offshore Disposal Site Investigation, Newport, 

Oregon. Revision 1, September 11, 2000. Seattle, WA. Prepared for U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Portland District, Portland, OR.
Appendix D, Yaquina Bay ODMDS Evaluation/EA D-9