AH-WR-0597

Mary

River Steamer · United States · Lost 1906 · The Gulf of Mexico

An Alabama River sternwheeler, docked at Mobile, crushed by wind and storm surge in the destructive Gulf hurricane of September 1906.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Mary was a 198-ton wooden sternwheel steamboat built in 1899 and engaged mainly in the Alabama River freight trade out of Mobile. On September 27, 1906, a major hurricane made landfall near Pascagoula, Mississippi, driving an estimated 11-foot storm tide into Mobile and Pensacola and killing at least 134 people across the region. The Mary was wrecked at Mobile by the storm's wind and surge, leaving her a crushed hulk; period photographs document the wreck.

Vessel

Built: 1899
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 198
Propulsion: Steam, sternwheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: September 27, 1906
Cause: Storm
Location: Mobile, Alabama
Water: Mobile Bay / Alabama River
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: No casualties specific to the Mary are established in the sources reviewed; the storm killed at least 134 people regionally.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Destroyed; contemporary photographs show the vessel crushed at her moorings.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 30.69° N 88.04° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Mobile, Alabama
Region: The Gulf of Mexico

General area only: coordinate of Mobile, Alabama from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

Vessel-specific casualty and precise wreck-location details are not established in the sources reviewed; only regional storm casualty figures are documented.