Schooner ‘Martha,’ Grounded at Requa, 1926

The schooner ‘Martha’, piloted by Captain Olsen, tried to cross a sand bar at the mouth of the Klamath River the morning of October 25, 1926. Loggers from the ‘Bull & Dunn Cedar Company’ quit work early to help pull the ‘Martha’ from the bar.

She floated free, but before she could get under away, she became caught by an incoming wave. Again she came ashore, but this time on the south beach.

Freed again and again driven into the sand bar, a final effort succeeded in freeing the ‘Martha.’ Once off the sand bar, the schooner returned deeper water and headed up the coast towards Crescent City.

During the time the ‘Martha’ blocked the river’s mouth, she caused the waters to back up until it covered the south bank of the Klamath, where cars drove onto the ferry. As soon as the ‘Martha’ broke free, the backed-up river rushed out through the channel.

But before that happened, several motorists turned around and drove back to a recently built road leading to the Douglas Bridge. And though dedicated six-months earlier, the bridge was not officially opened to traffic, but motorists drove across it anyway.

Frank Bosch ran the ferry until the Douglas Bridge officially opened to traffic. The ferry then went out of business.