Welcome To Bandon Visitors Guide 2010

• Local Visible Shipwrecks

Published: Thursday, May 21st, 2009 ¥ A wrecked wooden lumber barge rests on the riverbank off the southwest end of Bullards Bridge. The vessel's skeleton and the adjoining marsh and river have been favorites of artists and photographers for many years.

¥ Near the same location, but on the opposite (east) side of the highway, are the remains of an old Bullards Ferry boat and another lumber barge. Trees are growing up through the vessels' remains.

¥ At Prosper, near river mile 4.82, rests a steel hull from an unknown abandoned vessel. At river mile 5 are the remains of another abandoned vessel, believed to be a Riverton ferry boat. Both wrecks are located on the south bank of the river.

¥ At Parkersburg, near river mile 7.85, rests a sunken motor launch, possibly a tugboat formerly used in the wood products industry. The wreck is located opposite Judah Parker County Park.

¥ A portion of the bow of the 416-ton steam schooner Acme is visible on the ocean beach near Cut Creek, a couple of miles south of the Whiskey Run Lane beach access off Seven Devils Road.

¥ The Oliver Olson, a 307-foot-long steamship built in 1918, was inbound in 1953 when it went hard aground on the rocks at the South Jetty. The vessel was stripped of salvageable parts, cut down to the level of the existing jetty, and filled with quarry rock to extend the jetty.

To view the remains of the Oliver Olson, carefully walk out on the South Jetty at low tide until you reach a point about halfway between the small signal building and the jetty's western tip. The rusty ribs and other parts of the Oliver Olson can be seen on the north (river) side of the jetty.


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