The ship Antarctic became stuck in the ice in February 1903 and on the 12th it was wrecked. The crew of 20 people walked about 40 kilometres and 16 days before reaching Paulet Island, where they built a stone hut to hibernate in during the coming winter. They also built a cairn on the highest point to attract the attention of passing ships. During the winter of 1903, the sailor Ole Christian Wennersgaard died and his grave is also part of the Paulet Island historic site. Life on the island is described by Carl Skottsberg and Carl Larsen in Antarctic (1904). In December 1953, for the 50th anniversary of the rescue, the Argentine Navy visited, documented and placed a sign at the hut. Later, DNA-IAA undertook investigations and placed galvanised net fences by the hut. The grandson of Carl Larsen placed a brass plate with a briefer history and the names of the 20 survivors.

The cairn is located at the top of the island, more precisely in the highest part of the volcanic cone, on its southern edge at 351 metres high. The cairn is a tower of approximately one and a half metres in diameter, with a current height of 2.1 metres, which is made up of rocks of regular size brought from lower levels.