NORLINA National Register Nomination Recently Approved by the Commission
The California State Historical Resources Commission recently approved a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Norlina, a submerged archaeological site of the steel-hulled tramp steamship that struck the jagged shoals south of Horseshoe Point and came to rest in Gerstle Cove near Salt Point in 1926. SCHUNRS has worked diligently the last few years to collect data and map this important shipwreck site, all of which has been used to characterize the site in support of the nomination. The submerged archaeological site is that of the steel-hulled tramp steamship Norlina (1908-1926). Norlina, also known historically as Harfleur, Georgiana, and USS Norlina, was built in 1908 in West Hartlepool, England, at the William Gray and Company shipyard as Harfleur. Between 1909 and 1926, the vessel served as a cargo steamship under several ownerships and nationalities, including service during World War I under charter to the United States government. In August 1926, while enroute from San Francisco to Puget Sound with the Garland Steamship Corporation, Norlina struck the jagged shoals south of Horseshoe Point and came to rest near Salt Point in Sonoma County. The steamship was a total loss and heavily salvaged before breaking up and sinking. John Harreld, SCHUNRS President, and Deborah Marx, maritime archaeologist and lead author of the nomination, were recently interviewed by the Press Democrat regarding their work on mapping and researching the Norlina wreck site.