Info on Reilly Wreck

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In the previous two posts I talked about a place on the Baldwin Peninsula that we call Reilly (Riley) Wreck. It is basically located near the mouth of a creek that has an old shelter cabin and reindeer corrals near it. I have been told that there was a ship that ran aground there, but didn't really know any information. A reader was nice enough to give a link that contained info about the wreck. It never occurred to me that I was spelling it wrong. See how goon an investigative reporter I would be? Once I spelled it correctly I was able to find more info.

The info came from Minerals and Management Service shipwreck records. It stated that on 10/13/1905, the steamer, John Reilly, was blown up on rocks approximately 4 miles east of Cape Blossom, Kotzebue Sound in strong wind. The John Reilly called the Kobuk River its home and had made many trips up and down the river since 1898. Vessel had been assembled on St. Lawrence Island from materials brought up from southern ports on the bark Alaska. It had last been to port at Kiwalik.



Here is a photo of the John Reilly, (from the Alaska Digital Archive) being loaded by the S.S. Sadie. It is assumed that this photo was taken in Kotzebue Sound or Hotham Inlet (Kobuk Lake).

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