SS Laurel
Cargo Freighter · United States · Lost 1929 · The Columbia River Bar & Oregon Coast
A steel lumber freighter that lost her steering and broke in two on Peacock Spit in 1929, with her captain refusing to leave the wreck for days.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1919 as West Jessup and later renamed Laurel under States Steamship Company's Quaker Line, the freighter was crossing the Columbia River Bar with a load of lumber in June 1929 when her steering engines failed in a gale. Swept onto Peacock Spit, she broke in two; one crewman was lost. Rescue was delayed for days by mountains of floating deck lumber, and Captain Louis Johnson remained aboard until June 19, becoming a local legend for his reluctance to abandon ship.
Vessel
- 1919
- Ames Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
- Seattle, Washington
- Steel
- 410 ft
- 54 ft
- 5800
- Steam, single screw
- States Steamship Company (Quaker Line)
Loss
- June 16, 1929
- Mechanical failure
- Peacock Spit, mouth of the Columbia River
- Columbia River Bar / Pacific Ocean
- Columbia River, Oregon → East Coast ports via the Panama Canal
- About 7 million board feet of lumber
- Not established
- 1
- Louis Johnson
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broke in two on the spit and was left to break up further in the surf; no longer an intact structure.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 46.28° N 124.08° W
- Approximate position
- Cape Disappointment, Washington
Position approximates Peacock Spit at the mouth of the Columbia River, where the wreck occurred.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
Columbia River Maritime Museum / Quarterdeck Review
Vessel history and firsthand crew account.
Loss narrative, casualty, and rescue details.
