Quirky Oregon Coast History Tidbits: Jetty from a Shipwreck, Wacky Animals

Published 7/30/24 at 12:05 a.m.
By Andre' GW Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Oregon Coast) – What jetty in Oregon was partially built from a shipwreck? When did the the second exploding whale almost happen? And who likes seals that bite, shipwreck crime or a one-eyed seal?

The answers in Oregon's coastal history will surprise you – and maybe make you chuckle a tad.

Part of Bandon's Jetty Made from Shipwreck

Shipwrecks around the world form some mighty funky features in the ocean waters, especially those we can't see. Some have purposefully become manmade reefs of a sort.

On the south Oregon coast, however, one was used to help construct the jetties at Bandon. After it wrecked on the rocks on November 2, 1953, the town simply let parts of it stay right where it was and utilized it to add onto the south jetty.

The Olson in spring of '54 with a walkway attached

The 507-foot Oliver Olson crashed against the jetty of the Coquille River one cold, stormy night, leaving three huge holes in its hull. Aboard were 29 men, and although parts of the ship were flooding below and the waves were knocking against it, they had to sit put for a few days. They eventually were evacuated by a line to the ship as another storm was barreling in.

The Olson was owned by Oliver J Olson and Company, and its sister ship ran aground at Bandon several months before. It made it out after spendy repairs, but owners decided to abandon this vessel right where it was after only three days.

After lots of legal finagling, intervention by a U.S. Congressman and dealings with Lloyds of London, it was decided to incorporate it into an extension of the jetty. This had been on the minds of locals for some time, as the bar entrance was particularly rough. Fairly quickly, tons of material onboard was salvaged, and by the early part of '54 crews were slowly blowtorching the ship apart.

What was left of the hull was filled with rock and extended the jetty by some 450 feet. This was completed by the end of the summer.

Oregon Coast True Crime: Stealing from a Shipwreck

Back in 1954, January 2 saw three thieves apprehended near that Oliver Olson shipwreck. Local authorities caught James and Walter Cook (brothers from Sixes) and Lloyd Clark of Powers in the act. They stole more than $1,000 worth of stuff off the ship (worth thousands now), including radios. It's a dangerous and greasy crime – quite literally, as there was copious oil from the ship all over the rocks it was lodged against.

According to newspaper coverage most of the stuff was recovered.

Depoe Bay's Snapping Seal

Who likes a bitey seal? Really, no one. Then again, humans shouldn't be able to go near them.

Beginning about the '30s, Depoe Bay had its own aquarium. Back then, just like in Seaside, you could feed those little fellas.

Also back then: newspapers would have the oddest of details in their coverage. Like the August 12, 1938 edition of many Oregon papers which had the headline: Biting Seal Exists in Depoe Bay.

While not exactly groundbreaking history, it's amusing. The article documents how Arden E. Howard of Depoe Bay had been bitten by one of the Depoe Bay Aquarium's pinnipeds. “The seal, which is kept in captivity at the aquarium, seems rather uninterested in the incident.”

Clara the One-Eyed Seal

Deep in Seaside Aquarium, you can sometimes find a big, old-school sign that declares “Clara the One-Eyed Seal.” She was a famed one at the aquarium from the '40s through 1978. She died that year, apparently 35 years old.

According to manager Keith Chandler, she was a celebrity, even after her death. The eye was seriously disfigured – something had happened when she was younger. She was in no pain. One of her favorite tricks was to put her flippers to her mouth, showing tourists she wanted to be fed, Chandler said.

Her life span was a big deal: it was a record.

“I’m not sure if that’s the record anymore,” Chandler told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “But it was at the time.”

Tall Tale of Tillie the Almost-Exploding Whale

Animals and wildlife often make for a particularly kind of amusing history on the Oregon coast, and one of those is Waldport's Tillie the Whale.

Kitsch is cool on the coast, especially if it's of a historical nature, and the wacky skeleton of a whale by Tillicum Beach definitely counts as that.

It all starts in August of 1938 (the '30s were packed full o' crazy stuff on the coast). An already-stinky whale corpse showed up on that beach between Waldport and Yachats. Drawing thousands of onlookers, it soon became an unbearable stench for Waldport, and state authorities wouldn't take care of it. At least one media outlet hinted locals should blow it up – as they had in Warrenton just a year prior. That's right, Florence wasn't the first exploding whale. Warrenton Had an 'Exploding Whale' 30 Years Before Central Oregon Coast

No one blew this whale up, but its carcass was eventually turned into this skeleton that stood outside various gift shops and lodgings that were here from the '30s through at least the '60s. It was a famed – though now forgotten – roadside attraction in Oregon. Oregon Coast's Tillie the Whale History a Kooky and Dramatic One

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