AH-WR-0462

Beeswax Wreck

Galleon · Spain · Lost Believed lost between approximately 1693 and 1705, exact date unknown · The Columbia River Bar & Oregon Coast

An unidentified Spanish Manila galleon believed wrecked on Oregon's Nehalem Spit centuries ago, its cargo of beeswax and porcelain traded by coastal communities for generations.

Captain of Record

Daniel J. Buckman

AHR-1918

See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Since at least 1813, stories and physical evidence, including large blocks of beeswax, Chinese porcelain, and teak timbers, have pointed to a large ship wrecked long ago near the mouth of the Nehalem River. Local Clatsop and Nehalem-Tillamook communities traded and used the wreck's beeswax and timber for generations before Euro-American settlers arrived. Archaeological and historical research indicates the vessel was a Spanish galleon of the trans-Pacific Manila trade, likely lost sometime between the 1690s and 1705, making it the earliest documented shipwreck on the Oregon coast, though the vessel's name and the ship itself have never been definitively located.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Believed lost between approximately 1693 and 1705, exact date unknown
Cause: Not established
Location: Nehalem Spit, Oregon
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Manila, Philippines → Acapulco, Mexico (presumed, per the Manila galleon trade route)
Cargo: Chinese porcelain, beeswax blocks and candles, teak timbers
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Buried under sand at Nehalem Spit; exposed periodically by storms and erosion
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: First recorded 1813 by fur trader Alexander Henry
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 45.65° N 123.95° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Nehalem Spit, Oregon
Region: The Columbia River Bar & Oregon Coast

Position approximates the Nehalem Spit area associated with beeswax and porcelain finds; no confirmed hull location.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

The vessel's name, exact date of loss, and precise wreck location remain unconfirmed despite extensive historical and archaeological research.

Oregon Encyclopedia, Oregon Historical Society
Discovery history, cargo evidence, and Spanish galleon identification.
Oregon Historical Quarterly, "Oregon's Manila Galleon"
Academic analysis of cargo, dating, and archaeological significance.