AH-WR-0419

Dawn

Steam Ferry · United States · Lost 1923 · Lake Washington

A toy-like little steamer that ferried Mercer Island schoolchildren to Seattle, sunk once by a Christmas Eve gale and eventually scuttled in Lake Washington.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1914 at the Houghton shipyard, the Dawn ferried passengers, including many schoolchildren, between Mercer Island and Leschi Park in Seattle. As automobile ferries took over Lake Washington crossings in the 1920s, her passenger service ended and she became a party boat. A gale sank her at the Leschi Park dock on December 24, 1923, but she was salvaged and returned to use. She was dismantled around 1938, with her engine and boiler removed, and her hull is believed to have been scuttled in the lake thereafter.

Vessel

Built: 1914
Builder: Not established
Yard: Houghton, Washington
Material: Wood
Length: 55 ft
Beam: 15 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, steeple compound engine
Owners: Captain John L. Anderson

Loss

Date: December 24, 1923
Cause: Storm
Location: Leschi Park dock, Lake Washington
Water: Lake Washington
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 47.60° N 122.29° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Leschi Park, Seattle, Washington
Region: Lake Washington

General area only: coordinate of the Leschi neighborhood, home of Leschi Park and its dock where this vessel was lost in 1923, not a surveyed wreck position.