AH-WR-0827

Lupatia

Barque · United Kingdom · Lost 1881 · The Columbia River Bar & Oregon Coast

A British iron barque wrecked with all hands off Tillamook Rock in January 1881, just weeks before the lighthouse there was lit.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The iron barque Lupatia, built in England in 1875, was nearing the Columbia River in thick fog and a gale on January 3, 1881, when she struck the reef off Tillamook Rock. Workers still completing the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse saw her lights briefly before she vanished into the fog. All 16 crew died; the ship's dog was the sole survivor, found ashore. The disaster underscored the urgency of finishing the lighthouse, which was lit just over two weeks later.

Vessel

Built: 1875
Builder: Williamson
Yard: Harrington, England
Material: Iron
Length: 215 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 1069
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: J. H. Clark, Liverpool

Loss

Date: January 3, 1881
Cause: Navigational error
Location: Tillamook Rock / Tillamook Head, Oregon
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Columbia River
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 16
Lives lost: 16
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Broke apart on the reef; no coherent structure is documented to survive.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established