SS Portland
Passenger And Cargo Steamer · United States · Lost 1910 · The Inside Passage & Alaska
The famed "ton of gold" steamer that sparked the Klondike Gold Rush ended her career grounded near Katalla, her hull rediscovered decades later.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Launched in Maine in 1885 as Haytian Republic, the ship was renamed Portland and became internationally famous in July 1897 when she docked in Seattle carrying miners and roughly two tons of Klondike gold, an event that ignited the gold rush. She continued in Alaska coastal service until November 12, 1910, when she struck a rock and grounded near Katalla; everyone aboard survived. Her wooden hull, later exposed by shoreline shifts from the 1964 earthquake and by erosion, was found and identified in the early 2000s.
Vessel
- 1885
- New England Shipbuilding
- Bath, Maine
- Wood
- 191 ft
- Not established
- 1420
- Steam, single screw
- Not established
Loss
- November 12, 1910
- Grounding
- Mouth of the Katalla River, near Katalla, Alaska
- Gulf of Alaska, near Katalla
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Well preserved wooden lower hull, partly exposed by shoreline change after the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and subsequent erosion.
- Not established
- 2002
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Approximate position
- Katalla, Alaska
Reported as roughly 50 miles southeast of Cordova, at the mouth of the Katalla River; no precise surveyed coordinates were found.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
Anchorage Daily News, "Histories of Alaska" (David Reamer)
Build history, gold rush fame, and final loss.
The Seattle Times (Associated Press, 2004)
Rediscovery and identification of the wreck near Cordova in 2004.
Alaska State Library Historical Collections
Confirms date of grounding near Katalla and that all survived.
