Wawona

The Wawona is a three-masted wooden schooner measuring about 47 meters long, now permanently moored at the Museum of History and Industry's waterfront in Seattle. The vessel displays the structure and working features of a classical coastal trading ship, with visible rigging, deck layouts, and crew quarters that reflect how people worked and lived aboard.

Launched in 1897, the vessel initially carried lumber between Puget Sound ports and California until 1913, then shifted to cod fishing in the Bering Sea. After serving as a military cargo barge during World War II, the ship was eventually recognized as a significant maritime heritage vessel and preserved.

The name comes from a Maidu village in California, reflecting the indigenous connections to Pacific maritime history. Visitors walking aboard can sense how this vessel once represented the lifeline of fishing communities and trading networks across the region.

You can board and explore the vessel during museum hours, walking through the decks and interior spaces to see how it was organized. The ship sits at water level near the museum entrance, and you should expect narrow stairways and uneven surfaces typical of historic wooden vessels.

Artist John Grade created a 65-foot wooden sculpture in 2009 using salvaged timber from the original vessel, which stands as a permanent installation near the museum. This artistic reinterpretation preserves the memory of the ship in an unexpected way, transforming historical fragments into contemporary art.