SS POMONA (Shipwreck)
Why it's listed
Lying in 17 to 40 feet of water in Fort Ross Cove, off Fort Ross Historic State Park in Sonoma County, the SS Pomona is the wreck of a steel-hulled steam schooner. Union Iron Works of San Francisco built her in 1888. She measured 225 feet long and 33 feet wide, with three decks, two masts, a single propeller and a triple expansion steam engine. She carried passengers and freight along the Pacific coast for twenty years. On March 8, 1908, while traveling from San Francisco to Eureka, she struck a submerged pinnacle off Monterey Reef and sank about half a mile south of Fort Ross. Today her hull and machinery rest on a boulder-strewn bottom thick with marine life, and nearly half the vessel survives despite earlier salvage. The listing rests on her research value: she was the second steel hull built by Union Iron Works, and her remains may reveal details of early steel shipbuilding, including riveting patterns and construction methods, as well as the coastal trade she served.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the wreck is an archaeological site that can answer questions about 19th-century steel shipbuilding, since Pomona was the second steel hull built by Union Iron Works and was intended for the merchant trade. About half the vessel remains intact and stable. The wreck can also support interpretation of Pacific coast maritime history for park rangers, historians and educators.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 07000306, listed January 31, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Fort Ross Cove, off Fort Ross Historic State Park, Jenner |
|---|---|
| County | Sonoma County |
| Listed | January 31, 2008 |
| Reference number | 07000306 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Architect / builder | Built by San Francisco Union Iron Works; plans by Irving M. Scott, Jr. (listed as Chief Draughtsman) |
| Architectural style | Other: Steam Schooner |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Commerce, Engineering, Architecture, Historic - Non-Aboriginal |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Wreck lies in 17 to 40 feet of water; the steel hull and machinery are well preserved and stable, with almost fifty percent of the vessel intact despite prior salvage. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.51030, -123.24658 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 07000306.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.