SS City of Rio Janiero

[justintaylor]

I was wondering if any one has any any information on this wreck. It was wrecked in San fransisco bay and I was wondering if any treasure was ever recovered from it. It was reported that it went down with $9,000,000 of gold ,silver, ivory and jade so any info would be helpful.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Justin:

The SS City of Rio Janiero is owned by the State of California, State Lands Commission. Listed in the National Register as nationally significant.


The 1901 disaster is summarized at:

The Maritime Heritage Project (note the last sentence)

http://mall15.register.com/mariti/ships/ss.html

"SS City of Rio De Janeiro
On the morning of February 22, 1901, the Pacific Mail Steamer Rio de
Janeiro was feeling her way toward San Francisco in one of the famous
coastal fogs. Visibility was zero. Captain William Ward paced the
bridge as crew stared blindly into a damp, gray void. Shortly after
five o'clock, the liner neared the Golden Gate. She was a little too
far south on her course when she struck the jagged rocks near Land's
End and Fort Point. The blow was devastating. 200 of her passengers
rushed up on deck, while the steamer sank fast amid the wail of her
whistle and the sound of escaping steam. Passengers fought for a seat
in the lifeboats, only to overcrowd and sink the boats. Fist fights
broke out over life jackets. In less than 18 minutes, she was
inundated by the Pacific's frigid waters. At final count, only 81
people survived; 129 had perished, among them the Captain, who had
gone down with his ship. In the aftermath of the tragedy, reports of
quantities of gold and silver estimated as high as $3 million were
reputed to have been lost with the liner, yet her manifests listed no
treasure."

Don.......

Source: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=51894

 

[allen_idaho]

Hi everybody. I wanted to revive this thread for a moment to add more information about this wreck. I recently discovered a report which seems to verify that there may have been a small amount of treasure onboard. Probably not enough to get excited about. But treasure all the same.

The report detailed an attempt to locate and salvage the ship in November, 1901. The reason being that a man named Rounsevelle Wildman was killed in the wreck along with his entire family. Mr. Wildman was the acting Consul General of the US Embassy in Hong Kong from 1897 to his death in 1901. It seems he was tasked with returning to San Francisco with several important government documents and an unknown amount of treasure (likely specie) which was government property.

After the wreck of the ship, the US Government launched an attempt to recover the treasure and documents. More than likely, the documents and treasure were being kept in Mr. Wildman's cabin.

Otherwise, the ship's cargo wasn't anything too special. Silk products. Opium. General merchandise. Some mail. And about 2400 slabs of tin.

Is it the amazing treasure laden mystery ship everyone makes it out to be? Of course not.
Does it have some items of value onboard? Yes. The tin and possibly the small amount of treasure.
That is, of course, assuming the wreck hasn't been ripped into tiny pieces and strewn over miles of sea bed by now.

 

[Batavia]

Another account of the wreck

Hi everybody. I wanted to revive this thread for a moment to add more information about this wreck. I recently discovered a report which seems to verify that there may have been a small amount of treasure onboard. Probably not enough to get excited about. But treasure all the same.

The report detailed an attempt to locate and salvage the ship in November, 1901. The reason being that a man named Rounsevelle Wildman was killed in the wreck along with his entire family. Mr. Wildman was the acting Consul General of the US Embassy in Hong Kong from 1897 to his death in 1901. It seems he was tasked with returning to San Francisco with several important government documents and an unknown amount of treasure (likely specie) which was government property.

After the wreck of the ship, the US Government launched an attempt to recover the treasure and documents. More than likely, the documents and treasure were being kept in Mr. Wildman's cabin.

Otherwise, the ship's cargo wasn't anything too special. Silk products. Opium. General merchandise. Some mail. And about 2400 slabs of tin.

Is it the amazing treasure laden mystery ship everyone makes it out to be? Of course not.
Does it have some items of value onboard? Yes. The tin and possibly the small amount of treasure.
That is, of course, assuming the wreck hasn't been ripped into tiny pieces and strewn over miles of sea bed by now.

Have a look at this link: SS City of Rio de Janeiro

 

[Mackaydon]

Yes, in 1931 Captain Charles H. Haskell claimed to have found the wreck using his submarine. He gave a press conference where he announced the salvage rights to be claimed and announced its intention to recover gold, silver and jewels. However, he disappeared without a trace in July of the same year.
Due to the strong currents from Baker Beach and the depth of the water, the City of Rio de Janeiro, despite repeated searches, has yet to be found. Many claim it will never be identified due to the currents and the number of other wrecks in the same area.
Notwithstanding , wreckage including bodies continued to be found along the coast. In 1903, the corpse of Captain Ward was found near Fort Point, identified only by his watch. In 1917, at Point Lobos south of Monterey, a wooden keg barrel washed ashore, with the words "Rio de Janeiro" still visible. Two years later, at the beach of Suisun Bay even more wreckage recovered.This area lies 64 kilometers from the wreck location.. In 1988, the wreck of the City of Rio de Janeiro was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (Registration number 88002394). If ever found, there isn't a chance today, based on California's regulations that any private concern would be given salvage rights to retain the artifacts--IMO.
Don.......

 

[Whitt]

It's funny to me that a wreck that hasn't even been found could be placed in the register of Historic Places.