She was an iconic ship representing the Pacific Northwest's maritime history. Following her 50-year career at sea, she was a museum ship for over 60 years. Her dismantled wood and steel were reformed into a sculpture in the Museum of History & Industry in 2012 and will be preserved there for the future.[3]
History
Wawona was built near Eureka, California on Humboldt Bay by Hans Ditlev Bendixsen, who was one of the most important West Coastshipbuilders of the late 19th century. The vessel was 165 feet (50m) long with a 35-foot (11m)beam. Her masts were 110 feet (34m) tall.
From 1914 until 1947, except during World War II, Wawona sailed to the Bering Sea with a crew of 36 to fish for cod. In 1935, her captain, Charles Foss, died at the wheel during a storm in the Aleutian Islands. Her service ended in 1948.
In 1964, sixteen years after the vessel's retirement, a group of Seattle residents, headed by Kay Bullitt, formed Northwest Seaport and purchased Wawona as a museum ship. The schooner was made available for public visits during her ongoing restoration.[10][failed verification]
Wawona was towed to a dry dock and dismantled on March 2, 2009. Some of the vessel's features were preserved for the museum.[11]
Wawona was hauled to the Lake Union Drydock on 4 March 2009 and was dismantled. The only remaining West Coast lumber transport sailing ship is C.A. Thayer.[12]
Museum sculpture
Following her demolition, MOHAI commissioned artist John Grade to use the salvaged materials from the ship to create an art piece.
Grade created a massive 65-foot sculpture called Wawona that stands in the center of the Grand Atrium of the MOHAI. The sculpture extends below the floor and above the roof of the Museum. Wood from the ship was also used to create the museum's front desk and the bar at the museum's Compass Cafe.[3]
↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMGQ-JYS: accessed 25 February 2020), Ralph E Peasley in household of Henry Peasley, Jonesport town, Washington, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 209, sheet 8B, family 180, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,601.
↑ Follansbee, Joe. Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona iUniverse, 2006
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The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest private heritage organization in Washington state, maintaining a collection of nearly four million artifacts, photographs, and archival materials primarily focusing on Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region. A portion of this collection is on display in the museum's galleries at the historic Naval Reserve Armory in Lake Union Park.
Northwest Seaport Maritime Heritage Center is a nonprofit organization in Seattle, Washington dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Puget Sound and Northwest Coast maritime heritage, expressed through educational programs and experiences available to the public aboard its ships. The organization owns three large historic vessels docked at the Historic Ships' Wharf in Seattle's Lake Union Park; the tugboat Arthur Foss (1889), Lightship 83 Swiftsure (1904), and the halibut fishing schooner Tordenskjold (1911). These vessels are used as platforms for a variety of public programs, ranging from tours and festivals to restoration workshops and vocational training.
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