The Schooner Electra

The schooner Electra was built in the mid-1870s at Little River, California, by shipbuilder Thomas Heinrich Petersen. A two-masted, single-deck lumber schooner, she measured 89 feet in length and displaced just over 92 tons. With her home port in San Francisco, she was part of a vital fleet of coastal vessels that carried lumber from the redwood forests of Northern California to the growing cities of the West Coast.

Over her nearly two-decade career, Electra gained a reputation as one of the fastest and most reliable sailing vessels along the Mendocino coast. She was long captained by men such as Captain Stanton and later Captain Griffith, under whom she earned the title of “champion of the coast” for her swift passages and dependable performance. Owned in part by the Mendocino Lumber Company and Charles D. Ford, she played a key role in the booming lumber trade, ferrying millions of board feet from Pacific Coast mills.

But Electra’s sailing life was not without hardship. On October 10, 1893, while attempting to leave Mendocino’s harbor in the early morning hours, she ran aground on the rocks near the blow hole on the harbor’s north side. Though she floated free several hours later, she suffered serious hull damage. The steamer Cleone took her cargo, and plans were made to tow her to the city for repairs. Despite heavy seas, she was salvaged and underwent extensive rebuilding.

Tragically, Electra’s luck ran out the following year. On October 16, 1894, while anchored off Cambria in San Luis Obispo County, a fierce gale drove her ashore as she was unloading a cargo of 150,000 board feet of lumber. Captain Wilson and his crew barely made it to shore with the help of townspeople, and the Electra soon broke in two. It was a heartbreaking end for a vessel once celebrated for her speed and grace—a true workhorse of the redwood era, lost to the relentless force of the Pacific.

Next Sunday! Annual Book Sale at Kelley House Museum. May 25, 10am – 3pm. Stop by for a great selection of history and art books at low prices. Curated by Katy Tahja.