In One Ear: Castaway cannons

Published 12:15 am Thursday, September 7, 2023

After the USS Shark sank, the main worry was: What happened to its cannons? A Cannon Beach History Center & Museum blog post has the answer.

The beaches were scoured in the search from Point Adams south, but then word came from local natives that part of the ship’s hull was 20 to 30 miles down the coast. Midshipman Simes was sent to take a look.

He found the piece of wreckage, loaded with three carronade cannons. He managed to remove one to what he assumed was the high tide mark. When he came back with help, it was gone. The tide took it.

In 1963, mail carrier John Hobson reported spotting the elusive cannon. John Austin, who established a post office at Arch Cape in 1891, named the area Cannon Beach after the lost cannon, but even after spending a good deal of time and money, he never found it.

In 1898, when George Luce, another mail carrier, found it in Arch Cape Creek. He told Austin’s wife, and her neighbors loaned a team of horses to retrieve the cannon. It was originally displayed at Austin’s post office, but after moving a couple of times, came to rest at the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum.

Finally, in 2008, the other two carronade cannons Simes tracked down, covered in concretions, were found on the beach in Arch Cape by a girl from Tualatin. After restoration, they are now at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.