List_of_steamboats_on_the_Columbia_River

List of steamboats on the Columbia River

List of steamboats on the Columbia River

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This is a list of steamboats and related vessels which operated on the Columbia river and its tributaries and in the state of Oregon, including its coastal areas. This should not be considered a complete list. Information for some vessels may be lacking, or sources may be in conflict.

This list summarizes basic characteristics of steamboats placed in service on the Columbia River and its tributaries. The articles Steamboats of the Columbia River, Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes, British Columbia, Steamboats of Columbia River, Wenatchee Reach, Steamboats of the Cowlitz River, and Steamboats of the Willamette River expand on the topic

Table codes key

Disposition codes

Disposition codes used in this list are:

  • A = Abandoned.
  • B = Burned
  • C = Converted; C-B = Converted to barge; C-D = converted to diesel engine; C-F = Converted to ferry; C-G = Converted to gasoline engine; C-H = Converted to house; C-S = converted to sailing vessel
  • D = Dismantled
  • F = Foundered at sea
  • G = Grounded (total loss)
  • L = Laid up
  • M = Museum as of 2017
  • N = Name change
  • O = Operational as of date given
  • R = Rebuilt
  • RN = Rebuilt and name changed
  • S = sank
  • T = Transferred; T-AK = Transferred to Alaska; T-BC = Transferred to British Columbia; T-CA = Transferred to California; T-WA = Transferred to Oregon or to Columbia River; T-GH = Transferred to Grays Harbor
  • W = Wrecked by collision or striking ground
  • X = Explosion of boiler

Vessel types

  • Stern = sternwheeler
  • Side = sidewheeler
  • Prop = propeller-driven

Other abbreviations

  • GT = Gross Tons; RT = Registered Tons
  • YB = Year Built
  • Dspo = Disposition type
  • Ldng = Landing
  • Rpds = Rapids

Vessels should not be assumed to have served continuously in Oregon or on the Columbia river and its tributaries during the periods shown on this chart; transfer between service areas was common.

List of vessels

More information Name, Reg # ...

Name changes and notes

Name changes

  1. Ex Maja, US #93295.
  2. Ex N.S. Bentley, US #130364.
  3. Rebuilt and renamed Georgie Burton, US #203101.
  4. Ex State of Idaho, US #116557.
  5. Rebuilt and renamed E.N. Cooke.
  6. Renamed White and worked on Swan Lake (Montana) from 1914 to 1917.
  7. ex Lewiston, US #1737.
  8. Ex Wm. M. Hoag US #81171. Also spelled Annie Comings.
  9. Ex Wm. M. Hoag, US #81171.
  10. Ex Hooligan.
  11. Ex Clara Parker, US #125915.
  12. Ex Nisqually.
  13. Ex Metlako (US # 3830), ex Bonita (US #3830).
  14. Ex Lewiston, US #223498.
  15. Renamed Arrow No. 1.
  16. Ex Glenola, US #86041.
  17. Officially named Belle of Oregon City.
  18. Renamed Metlako, US #3830.
  19. Ex Dalton.
  20. Ex Rainier, US #5687.
  21. Also seen as Cascades.
  22. Officially named Cascades of the Columbia, US #127751.
  23. Officially named Cascades of the Columbia, US #209586.
  24. Renamed Monarch, US #127574.
  25. Ex City of Sellwood.
  26. Also seen spelled City of Ellensburg.
  27. Ex Traveler US #145181, renamed in 1889.
  28. Renamed H.C. Grady, US #96316.
  29. Renamed City of Astoria.
  30. Renamed Mud Hen (1890)
  31. Rebuilt and renamed Astorian, US #106798.
  32. Ramed Relief, US# 203513, rebuilt in 1917.
  33. Ex Swan.
  34. Rebuilt and renamed Wenat, US #80026.
  35. Name changed to Diamond O., US #207330.
  36. Name changed to Capital City, US #157507.
  37. Reconstructed as Alaskan Native.
  38. Ex Fannie, US # 120685, name changed in 1906 when switched over to freight service.
  39. Ex Dalles City, US #207330.
  40. Renamed John Wildi; later abandoned in 1927.
  41. Also spelled E.N. Cook.
  42. Ex St. Joseph.
  43. Ex North Star, US #130967.
  44. Also seen as F.H. Jones.
  45. Ex H.C. Grady, US #96316.
  46. Name changed to Diamond O., US #120685, in 1906 when rebuilt for freight service.
  47. Rebuilt from wreck of James P. Flint.
  48. Ex Shoalwater.
  49. Renamed Franklin.
  50. Ex Yarrow.
  51. Ex Shoalwater, ex Fenix.
  52. Renamed Minnie Holmes.
  53. Renamed Woodland, US #86386, and then rebuilt in 1915.
  54. Renamed Glenola, US #86041.
  55. Ex Duchesnay
  56. Later Willapa and Bellingham.
  57. Renamed Willapa ca. 1885.
  58. Ex Paloma, US #150941.
  59. Ex Sadie B.
  60. <Renamed Tualatin.
  61. Renamed Lake Bonneville.
  62. Ex Albany, ex N.S. Bentley.
  63. Ex G.W. Shaver, US #86041.
  64. Rebuilt and renamed Beaver, US #202837.
  65. Renamed Active.
  66. Renamed Northwestern, US #210453.
  67. Ex City of Frankfort (1891).
  68. Renamed F.M. Smith, US #96316.
  69. Also spelled Hassaloe.
  70. Ex Mary H. Packer, following conversion from steam to gasoline engines.
  71. Ex M.F. Henderson, US #393168.
  72. Ex Staghound, US #116823.
  73. Rebuilt after a fire and renamed Louise Vaughn.
  74. Renamed Annie Laurie.
  75. Rebuilt from Hoosier No. 2.
  76. Ex Suomi.
  77. Renamed Service, US #20582.
  78. Ex Oregona, US #200949.
  79. Engines to Ione, US #209156.
  80. Raised and rebuilt as Fashion (1853).
  81. Ex Eagle.
  82. Renamed Pearl
  83. Rebuilt and renamed Klondike 3 (1923).
  84. Ex Dispatch.
  85. Rebuilt as Joseph Kellogg, US #77431.
  86. Name changed to Madeline, US #77341.
  87. Also known as Julia Barclay.
  88. Ex Pend Oreille (refitted and enlarged).
  89. Ex Mallard (1908).
  90. Rebuilt and renamed Ottawa, US #202283.
  91. Also spelled Cayuse.
  92. Renamed Indian.
  93. Ex Tom Morris.
  94. Ex Georgiana.
  95. Ex McMinnville.
  96. Renamed Barry K US #223498. prior to 1942 transfer to Alaska.
  97. Ex Olympian, ex Telegraph both US #200012.
  98. Ex Hermina.
  99. Ex Joseph Kellogg, US#72431.
  100. Renamed Alarm (1907).
  101. Renamed Kaleden No. 1 after transfer to Skaha Lake, BC.
  102. Also spelled Manzanilla.
  103. Ex Vancouver, US # 25835.
  104. Renamed Hazel & Helen (1911) and repowered with gasoline engines.
  105. Rebuilt and renamed Leona, US #141710.
  106. Rebuilt from Pend Oreille.
  107. Ex Bonita (1890).
  108. Renamed B.H. Smith, Jr.
  109. Ex Shoalwater, ex Fenix, ex Franklin.
  110. Ex Charles R. Spencer, US #127574
  111. Renamed Sehome and rebuilt as sidewheeler after transfer to Puget Sound.
  112. Ex City of Vernon.
  113. Ex Salem, US #115778
  114. Rebuilt and renamed Albany, US #107218.
  115. Name changed to Robert Young, US #215759.
  116. Ex Grahamona, US #210453.
  117. Ex Red Star. Later in career known as Lucy and also Red Star again.
  118. Ex Telegraph, transferred to Columbia River from Puget Sound in 1920.
  119. Rebuilt and renamed Interstate, U.S. registry #223545.
  120. Ex Kehani (rebuilt in 1905).
  121. Renamed Geo. W. Bates, US #150941.
  122. Ex Jessie Harkins
  123. Renamed Metaline, US #92664.
  124. Refitted and renamed Juno.
  125. Ex Alert. Unpowered bateau until 1890.
  126. Ex Kaslo.
  127. Rebuilt and renamed Carrie, US #5687.
  128. Ex Orillia.
  129. Renamed Okanagan.
  130. Ex Columbia, US #127689.
  131. Ex Nespelem.
  132. Renamed Elk.
  133. Rebuilt and renamed N.R. Lang, US #230884.
  134. Ex Gazelle.
  135. Renamed Señorita.
  136. Ex Inland Empire, US #205882, renamed Service in 1920.
  137. Renamed Fenix
  138. Also known as Tut Tut.
  139. Also known as Noisy Peggy.
  140. Ex Norman.
  141. Ex Columbia Queen.
  142. Renamed Ilwaco.
  143. Renamed Cowlitz, US #80026.
  144. Later named Olympian.
  145. Rebuilt as New Tenino, U.S. registry #130067.
  146. <Ex Undine (1921), renamed 1935.
  147. Rebuilt and renamed La Camas.
  148. Renamed as City of Frankfort.
  149. Ex Robert G. Ingersoll.
  150. Possibly the same vessel as Skookum alias Tut Tut.
  151. Ex Venture.
  152. Renamed The Dalles, US #221499.
  153. Name changed to Union.
  154. Ex Unio.
  155. Rebuilt and renamed Maria, US # 91960.
  156. Renamed Bay City.
  157. Ex Swan, ex Cowlitz (1857).
  158. Ex Mogul.
  159. Ex General Miles.
  160. Later renamed Bellingham.
  161. Rebuilt and renamed Annie Commings.
  162. Ex G.W. Walker, US #86386.
  163. Rebuilt by U.S. Corps of Engineers after 1913 acquisition.
  164. Renamed Flyer by 1915.

Notes

  1. Iron hull.
  2. Length estimated from photograph or vessel tonnage.
  3. Steel hull.
  4. Rebuilt, enlarged, and converted to diesel power in 1949.
  5. Diesel engine.
  6. Coasting vessel
  7. Barge hull.
  8. Engines to sidewheeler Fashion.
  9. Engines to Kokanee, C103305
  10. Transferred to Lake Chelan, rebuilt, and renamed Stehekin.
  11. Reconstructed to propeller drive.
  12. Laid up following wreck, machinery and fittings to State of Idaho, US #116557.
  13. Moved to Okanagan Lake in the 1920s.
  14. Scow hull.
  15. Transferred to Shuswap Lake.
  16. Dismantled, engines to Ptarmigan.
  17. Machinery, fittings and superstructure shipped to Lake Pend Oreille to be installed on steamer Pend Oreille.
  18. Engines to Libby.
  19. Reconstructed to propeller-driven.
  20. Converted to gasoline engine power in 1909.
  21. Engines to Klahowya, Canadian registry #126946.)
  22. Engines to Spokane, US #117250.
  23. Engines to Forty-Nine.
  24. Converted to diesel power.
  25. Engines to Silver City.
  26. Originally powered by a gasoline engine, converted to steam power in June 1913, with engines from Uncle Sam.
  27. Possibly deliberately burned by a rival ferryman.
  28. Transferred to Shoalwater Bay service in about 1890.
  29. Abandoned circa 1920.
  30. Engines to Ruth, US #111113.
  31. Later converted to gasoline engine operation, and afterwards, to propeller drive.
  32. Engines from Daisy Ainsworth.
  33. Rebuilt and enlarged in 1881.
  34. Engines from Tenino, US registry #24491.
  35. Sold by U.S. Marshall to satisfy creditors.
  36. Wrecked in South America en route to east coast.
  37. Rebuilt as a sternwheeler.
  38. Engines to Nowitka.
  39. Converted to gasoline engine power by 1904. Operated in the Coos Bay region.
  40. On the Willamette River, near the mouth of the Yamhill River.
  41. Engines from Surprise.
  42. Rebuilt and converted to propeller drive in 1927.
  43. Wrecked at mouth of Columbia River while en route to Alaska, raised, rebuilt, and renamed Hercules, US #96443.
  44. Raised, rebuilt, and operated as Alberta, US #103296.
  45. Engines to Senator.
  46. Machinery to W.H. Pringle
  47. Sold for service on Lake Pend Oreille and on the Pend O'Reille River below Albeni Falls.
  48. Engines and probably parts of the upper works of Kootenai were incorporated into Trail.
  49. Wrecked, rebuilt and renamed Umatilla.
  50. Engines to Kaleden, C130297.
  51. Still operational on Puget Sound; operated briefly on the Columbia River in the early 1940s.
  52. Machinery from Thomas L. Nixon.
  53. Wrecked at Entiat Rapids, salvaged.
  54. Reconstructed and lengthened in 1890.
  55. Naphtha-fueled engines.

References

Printed documents

  • Affleck, Edward L. (2000). A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska. Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. ISBN 0-920034-08-X.
  • Asay, Jeff (1991). Union Pacific Northwest -- The Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company. Edmonds, WA: Pacific Fast Mail. ISBN 0-915713-21-7.
  • Carey, Charles Henry (1922). History of Oregon. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Portland, Oregon / Chicago, Illinois: The Pioneer-Historical Publishing Company.
  • Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the River (2nd ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society. ISBN 0875950426.
  • Dodge, Orvil (1898). Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties. Salem, Oregon: Capital Printing Co. LCCN 16017962.
  • Downs, Art (1972). Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers. Seattle, WA: Superior Publishing. ISBN 978-0875642116.
  • Feagans, Raymond J. (1972). The Railroad that Ran by the Tide -- Ilwaco Railroad & Navigation Company of the State of Washington. Berkeley, California: Howell-North Books. ISBN 0-8310-7094-3. LCCN 72076313.
  • Fogarty, Jack (1956). Some History of Early Steamboating on Yaquina Bay. Newport, Oregon: Lincoln County Historical Society. ASIN B0007GS4BO.
  • Friedman, Ralph (1983). This Side of Oregon. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press. ISBN 0-87004-284-X.
  • Goodwin, Helen Durrie, "Shipbuilding in the Northwest", The Washington Historical Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul. 1920), pages 183-201 .
  • Gulick, Bill (2004). Steamboats on Northwest Rivers. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press. ISBN 0-87004-438-9.
  • Holt, Ruby El (1953). Steamboats in the Timber (1st ed.). Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, Ltd. ASIN B000PRVT9O.
  • Lyman, William Denison (1911). 'The Columbia River -- Its History, Its Myths, Its Scenery, Its Commerce. New York NY: Putnam.
  • Marshall, Don (1984). Oregon Shipwrecks. Portland, Oregon: Binford and Mort Publishing. ISBN 0-8323-0430-1. LCCN 84071477.
  • Mills, Randall V. (1947). Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska. ISBN 0-8032-5874-7. LCCN 77007161.
  • Nehalem Bay United Methodist Church, Memorial Society; Anderson, Irma, eds. (1970). 100 Years of the Nehalem Country. Nehalem, Oregon: Pacific Yearbook Co. LCCN 76027246.
  • Newell, Gordon R., ed. (1966). H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: Superior Pub. Co. LCCN 66025424.
  • Newell, Gordon R.; Williamson, Joe D. (1958). Pacific Steamboats: Photographs from the Joe Williamson Marine collection. Seattle, WA: Superior Pub. Co. LCCN 58013817. OCLC 5391285.
  • Panter, William, "Early River Traffic on the Coquille", Glancing Back (Pioneer Lore), at 16-19, Vol. I, No. 1, Coos-Curry Pioneer and Historical Association (1971)
  • Schwantes, Carlos Arnaldo (1999). Long Day's Journey – The Steamboat and Stagecoach Era in the Northern West. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97691-8.
  • Timmen, Fritz (1973). Blow for the Landing -- A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-221-1. LCCN 73150815.
  • Turner, Robert D. (1984). Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Pacific Railway's British Columbia Lake and River Service (1st ed.). Victoria, BC: Sono Nis Press. ISBN 0919203159.
  • Walling, A.G. (1884). History of Southern Oregon: Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Countries. Portland, Oregon: A.G. Walling. LCCN a14001444.
  • Wright, Edgar W., ed. (1895). Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon: Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. LCCN 28001147.

Government documents

  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1871). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1870). Vol. 3. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/njp.32101068130812.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1875). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1874). Vol. 7. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/njp.32101068130820.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1879). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1878). Vol. 10. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/njp.32101068130838.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Mar. Inspt. Bur. (1887). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1886). Vol. 18. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/uc1.b3330056.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Mar. Inspt. Bur. (1888). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1887). Vol. 19. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/uc1.b3330057.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1894). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1893). Vol. 25. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/nnc1.cu05600073.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1896). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1895). Vol. 27. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/njp.32101068130879.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1897). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1896). Vol. 28. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/nnc1.cu05600103.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1900). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1899). Vol. 31. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/nnc1.cu05600111.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1904). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1903). Vol. 35. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/nnc1.cu05600138.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1905). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1904). Vol. 36. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/nnc1.cu05600146.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1906). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end June 30, 1905). Vol. 37. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/uc1.b3330069.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1907). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end June 30, 1906). Vol. 38. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/uc1.b3330070.
  • U.S. Treasury Dept, Stats. Bureau (1908). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end June 30, 1907). Vol. 39. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/njp.32101068130895.
  • U.S. Comm. Dept, Nav. Bureau (1920). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1919). Vol. 51. Washington, D.C.: GPO. hdl:2027/njp.32101068131000.

See also


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