The River
The Sacramento River originates in the
area of Siskiyou Lake, near the city of Mt. Shasta, California.
From there the river flows generally south, continuing through Shasta
Lake Reservoir and past the town of Redding. It collects the tributary
waters of the Feather River just north of the city of Sacramento, where
it is joined by the American River. Below Sacramento, the river enters
the Sacramento River Delta, where it is joined by the San Joaquin River.
The combined waters then exit into Suisun Bay, San Pablo Bay, and San
Francisco Bay.
An Inland Highway
The river helped form the track of a
trade and travel route known as the Siskiyou Trail, which stretched from
California's Central Valley to the Pacific Northwest. The Siskiyou Trail
closely paralleled the Sacramento River and took advantage of the
valleys and canyons carved by the river through the rugged terrain of
Northern California.
Detail of an 1852 nautical chart by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Cadwalader Ringgold (1802-1867)
showing a stretch
of the Sacramento River near present-day Clarksburg,
California.
From the
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, used under Creative Commons
License.
During the California Gold Rush, the Sacramento
River formed the primary route from San Francisco to the gold fields in
the central California mountains. (A rail connection between Sacramento
and Oakland would not be completed until 1869.) Vessels of all types
plied the river, carrying miners, merchants, supplies and land
speculators to the mining camps. Some of these vessels were large,
three-masted ocean vessels. Researchers believe that the Clarksburg
Shipwreck may be one of these.
View of Sacramento City from the
West Bank, 1852, by Edwin Cullberg and William H. Dougal.
From the
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, used under Creative Commons
License.
The Clarksburg
Shipwreck
The Clarksburg Shipwreck is a
wooden,
deep-water sailing ship. The lower hull is covered with copper sheathing,
which was used to protect the wood from teredo worms. The hull appears
to made entirely of wood, with no evidence the iron framing or
reinforcement that became commonplace in the 1860s. The size of the
framing and keel suggest a vessel of approximately 100 feet (33m) in length
and around 25 feet (12m) in breath. The vessel is sits partially under
rip-rap (stone blocks placed to prevent erosion), but is virtually intact with the port (left) side exposed. The
river bottom conditions on the site are muddy, and numerous snags
(submerged tree trunks and branches) are caught in the shipwreck.
Steamers, barges and seagoing sailing ships crowd the Sacramento
waterfront at the foot of J Street during the height of the Gold Rush.
From The United States
Illustrated by Charles A. Dana, published in 1855.
The Clarksburg
Shipwreck may date to around 1850. The sheathing places the
construction after 1832, while the lack of composite construction
suggests the ship predates the 1860s. The size of timbers and fullness
of the bow design suggest possible New England construction. Throughout
the 1840 and 1850s brigs and barques were a favored hull and rig design
for Pacific trade. The look of the bow is in keeping with a New England
built brig or barque.
John Foster, Senior Archaeologist with the
California Department of Parks and Recreation, at the Clarksburg site in
late 2006. |
