AH-WR-0128

SS Nicaragua

Steamer · Lost 1912 · Texas & the Western Gulf

A storm-wrecked cargo steamer on Padre Island whose true, modest cargo was later overshadowed by decades of treasure-ship legend.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in Bergen, Norway, in 1891, the steamer Nicaragua carried cotton and general cargo along Gulf routes. On October 16, 1912, a major storm broke her rudder chain and drove her ashore on Padre Island, Texas, at a stretch later called Devil's Elbow. Her crew reached safety at Port Aransas about ten days later. Over the following decades, local legend transformed the ordinary lumber-and-cotton carrier into a supposed treasure ship and gun-runner for Mexican revolutionaries.

Vessel

Built: 1891
Builder: Not established
Yard: Bergen, Norway
Material: Steel
Length: 190 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 611
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 16, 1912
Cause: Storm
Location: Padre Island, Texas, at a stretch known as Devil's Elbow
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: Tampico, Mexico → Port Arthur, Texas
Cargo: Cotton and general cargo
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Eschevarria

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Largely disintegrated; only fireboxes remained visible offshore as of 2007
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Padre Island National Seashore

Position

Coordinates: 26.69° N 97.32° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Padre Island, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

General area only: coordinate of the Devil's Elbow stretch of Padre Island cited by the National Park Service and Wikipedia, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel ("Padre Island, Texas, at a stretch known as Devil's Elbow"), not a surveyed wreck position.