Ship Specifications Date Sunk:
Date Commissioned:
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March 14, 1886
1881 Glasgow, Scotland
518 feet
54 feet
7,142 gross tons
Luxury Liner
Steel
19 knots
(1) 3 Cylinder
130 feet
Broken-up
Lying upright
Advanced
21 miles SE of Fire Island Inlet, NY
26543.3 - 43692.9
40° 30’ 49.36" (N) / 072° 50’ 24.37"(W)
The Oregon was built for Stephen Guion by John Elders
Fairfield & Company of Glasgow, Scotland in 1881. This fine vessel was 518
feet long, had a beam of 54 feet and displaced over 7,000 tons, making her one
of the largest ships of her day. The Oregon was powered by a three cylinder
engine which put out upwards of 12,000 horsepower and made her capable of running
nearly 19 knots. Steam was generated by 9 boilers each almost 18 feet long. Although she was a modern liner for her
time, the Oregon was just emerging from the time of sailing ships. Her modified
clipper designed hull carried two enormous smoke stacks and was also fitted
with four masts fully rigged for sail.
On March 6, 1886, the Oregon departed Liverpool and steamed
for New York. At 4:30 am, March 14th, on a clear Sunday morning, the Oregon was
jolted on her port side while running at full steam only five miles off Fire Island, NY.
Although there were many conflicting reports of exactly what caused the accident, it
has been accepted to have been a collision with the three masted schooner Charles H. Morse
of Maine which was reported missing that night.
Today, the Oregon lies in 125 to 130 feet of water 21 miles
south east of Fire Island Inlet, as area known as Wreck Valley. Her bow is
resting in its starboard side on a clean sand bottom. Her steel hull plates
have given way to the elements of time and collapsed, leaving only her engine
standing upright. In the stern divers can see her huge propeller half buried in
the sand. Divers have brought up
all kinds of artifacts including portholes, bottles, ornate chandeliers, clay
pipes, silverware and fine china stamped with the Cunard or Guion steamship
crest.
It seems that the Oregon did not die when she sank over 100
years ago, she has continued her life as one of the East coast’s finest shipwrecks. The
Oregon has everything a diver could want, good visibility, fish, lobsters, artifacts and a
fascinating history.
http://www.ecophotoexplorers.com/oregon.asp http://www.northeastdiver.com/oregon.html