twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of 16in (41cm) and stroke of 6ft (1.83m).
Propulsion
stern-wheel
Alice was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the 1870s and 1880s. Alice was the largest vessel built above Willamette Falls and was considered in its day to be the "Queen of the River". This steamer was rebuilt after near-destruction in a fire at Oregon City, Oregon in May 1873. In 1876, it was withdrawn from the upper Willamette River and transferred to the Columbia River, where it was worked as a towboat moving ocean-going ships to and from Portland and Astoria, Oregon, near the mouth of the Columbia River.
Alice was built at Canemah, Oregon in 1871[1][2] Reports that Alice was built in 1873 are incorrect.[3]Alice was rebuilt in 1873 following a fire in early May of that year, which may provide the origin of this error.
Canemah, Oregon was a settlement established in the 1850s on the east side of the river above Willamette Falls, not far from present day Oregon City. Many steamboats were built and Canemah before the Alice, but as the town declined in the 1870s, only three were constructed there, Alice, Shoo Fly, and McMinnvillle.[1] No steamers were built after the 1870s.[1]
The official merchant vessel registry number for Alice was 105098.[4] The gross tonnage (a measure of size, not weight) for the vessel was 457.16 in 1874.[4]
In 1886, Alice's registered dimensions were 150.5 long, 25.5 beam (width) and 6-foot depth of hold; gross tonnage 457.16, registered tonnage 334.22.[5]
When built, Alice was considered a prestige vessel, and as described as the Queen of the River.[6] In 1889, a nostalgic steamboat captain was reported to have described Alice as follows:
... the Alice was an elegant craft, whose fantail ran back over her wheel, as if to obtain a better view of the golden spread eagle soaring on the pilot house. Tasteful window-shutters secluded games of draw poker, revenue contests, and other diversions, and kept within doors the grateful warmth of the cabin fires.[7]
Engines
The original engines in Alice had been installed first in the steamer E.D. Baker, and when that vessel was dismantled, in the sternwheeler Reliance.[8] These were twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of 16in (41cm) and stroke of 6ft (1.8m).[8]
Sale to Ben Holladay
On September 1, 1871, it was reported that Alice would make its trial trip the next day.[9] However, on September 6, 1871, by vote of its shareholders, the People's Transportation Company was dissolved and all of its assets, including the not yet complete steamer Alice, were sold to a company organized by the prominent businessman Ben Holladay.[10][11]
It was not until February 2, 1872, that Alice was reported to be complete and ready for service.[12]Alice was reported to be the largest boat on the upper Willamette River, and of the same size and model as the E.N. Cooke.[12] The cabin was described as "small, yet plenty large enough for the demands of travel."[12] Alice was finished with staterooms instead of the older style berths.[12] The trial trip of the new steamer, upriver from Rock Island, was reported to have been made in the last week of January 1872.[12]
On February 9, 1872, Alice was reported to be ready to make its first commercial run up the Willamette River on the following Monday, February 12, 1872.[13]Alice was expected to be the fastest steamer ever to run on the upper Willamette.[13] On Tuesday, February 13, 1872, Alice reached Albany, Oregon.[14]
On Sunday, February 9, 1873, Alice arrived at the boat basin at Oregon City with 203 tons of wheat on board, which was said to have been the largest load ever brought to the basin by a single boat.[15] Almost a year later, on the Wednesday before January 30, 1874, Alice arrived at the boat basin with 245 tons of wheat on board.[16]
One of the rival vessels of Alice on the upper Willamette in early 1873 was the sternwheeler Gov. Grover, owned by the Willamette River Transportation Company, of which Bernard Goldsmith was president.[17] On Thursday, March 27, 1873, there were rumors that there would be a race between the two boats.[17] There was not an actually test of which steamer was capable of the faster speed.[17]
The Grover left the newly completed Willamette Locks at 8:30a.m., stopped at all the landings along the way, and arrived at Salem at 5:00p.m. with 33 passengers.[17] After a short stop in Salem, Grover went on to Corvallis.[17]
Alice departed the Oregon City boat basin at 9:56a.m. the same day, and arrived at Salem a few minutes after Grover, with 15 passengers and ten tons of through freight.[17]Alice loaded 8 tons of freight, and departed for Corvallis about one and a half minutes after the Grover.[17] According to a newspaper report from Salem, "they were both making the water fly when they passed out of sight."[17]
Near destruction by fire
The boat basin at Oregon City in 1867. The steamers Alice and Shoo Fly were moored near here in 1873 when both vessels were nearly destroyed by fire.
On the night of Friday, May 2, 1873, the steamers Alice and Shoo Fly were heavily damaged by fire at Oregon City.[18][19] The loss, estimated at $20,000, was believed by some to have been the work of an arsonist.[18]
The steamers were both moored within a few feet of the Larocque & Co. flour mills, which the Oregon City fire department saved from destruction.[20]
The Morning Oregonian had a somewhat different report, according to which the fire started about 10:00p.m. on the Saturday before May 5, 1873, on board the Shoo Fly, which, shortly after a light was observed coming from the boiler area, burst into flames.[21] Within five minutes after the fire was first noticed, it had spread to the Alice.[21] Both boats were nearly consumed within ten minutes.[21] The steamers had been moored next to the Imperial Mill building, and it had been in danger catching fire as well, but was saved by a shift of wind and the work of the Oregon City fire department.[21]
Both Alice and Shoo Fly were good running condition, although Shoo Fly was said to be rather old and had perhaps a year left of its useful life at the time of the fire.[21] The boilers and engines on both boats were undamaged, but the connecting gear, pipes and similar items were either melted or made using by having been warped by the intense heat.[21] The hull, parts of the deck and the stern-wheel of Alice were saved, and the steamer would probably be rebuilt.[21] The estimated loss was between $18,000 and $20,000.[21] There was no insurance.[21]
Some people thought the fire had originated when someone dropped cigar ash or something similar into inflammable materials on board Shoo Fly, such as pulu dust, with the fire festering slowly for some time before it was noticed, by which time it was too late.[21] The possibility of arson was discounted, because it was thought it would not have been perpetrated at so early in the evening.[21]
On May 9, 1873, it was reported that the Alice was to be rebuilt.[22] By July 25, 1873, the reconstruction had begun, and the work was expected to be complete by the fall shipping season.[23]
The steamer was still not complete on September 26, 1873, but the lower cabin frame had been placed in position, and the boat was reportedly going to be ready for the winter shipping season.[19]
On September 9, 1873, the Oregon Steamship Company, Ben Holladay, President, and L.T. Barin, Secretary of the Board, presented two gold mounted trumpets and a certificate of the company's appreciation to the Oregon City Fire Department for its services in preventing the steamers Alice and Shoo Fly from being completely destroyed on the night of the fire.[24]
Returned to service
Advertisement for Willamette River steamers, including Alice, August 31, 1874.
By early November the reconstruction of both Alice and Shoo Fly was nearly complete.[25]Alice was in the boat basin at Oregon City, and steam had been raised in the boiler on Tuesday, November 4, 1873.[25]Shoo Fly, also nearly complete, was being rebuilt at the sawmill downriver from Oregon City.[25]
On Saturday, November 15, 1873, Alice was taken on its trial trip following reconstruction, running from Oregon City to Boone's Ferry, on the upper Willamette.[26] The boat ran well, but full steam was not carried, so the top speed of the vessel could not be evaluated on the trial run.[26] Captain Milo Bell was in charge on the trial trip, and the mechanical department was headed by Reuben Smith, the company's chief engineer.[26]
The reconstructed Alice was a significant improvement over the original steamer.[26] The cabin structure, called the "house" was completely new.[26] Additional space was left on the foredeck, so that there was more room for the crew to move on the deck, and also to stack additional freight.[26]
The upper deck was divided into a smoking room, staterooms, and a cabin for ladies and another cabin for gentlemen.[26] The upper deck had been extended over the wheel, to prevent it from splashing water onto the cabin deck.[26] This had been the idea of Mr. Biles.[26]
The upholstery and the painting was still being done at the time of the November trial trip, and there was still some cabin work being done.[26]
Complaint from riverside property owner
In January 1874, an Albany, Oregon newspaper, the State Rights Democrat, published a complaint by Mr. Preston Bowman, of Spring Hill (a little down river from Independence), that he had kept tame geese, and the crew of the Alice had recently been amusing themselves by shooting the geese as the steamer passed by his place up and down the river.[27]
Wheat transport
In February 1874, three steamers, Alice, Fannie Patton, and Albany, were all engaged in transporting wheat from Eugene City and other points downriver to Salem Flour Mills, owned by Robert Crouch Kinney (1813-1875) and company.[28] Most of the wheat had already been sold, and was intended to be shipped to Europe.[28] The farmers in the upper Willamette Valley were hoping to get prices of $1 a bushel for their wheat.[28]
Transfer to lower Willamette River
On Thursday, July 23, 1874, Alice, which then belonged to the Oregon Steamship Company, was taken through the newly completed Willamette Falls Locks to the lower Willamette River.[29] In July 1874, it was reported that Alice was to be used as a private boat of the prominent businessman Ben Holladay.[29] According to an 1889 report, this had in fact occurred.[30]
Return to upper river service
By August 31, 1874, Alice had been returned to the upper Willamette, running from Oregon City to Corvallis and way landings on Mondays and Thursdays, making connections at Oregon City with the steamer Welcome to Portland.[31] Fare to Corvallis was $1.00.[31] Freight to Corvallis and all intermediate points was $1.00 per ton, exclusive of drayage, that is, local transport charges.[31]Alice continued to be advertised as being on this route until February 24, 1875.[32]
Numerous landings on route
There were many landings along the Willamette river in the 1870s.[33] In 1875, Alice made a trip from Oregon City to Albany and stopped at 33 landings along the way.[6] This was a distance of 92 miles.[34]
Snagged
On Tuesday, February 2, 1875, Alice hit a snag near Wheatland, and sustained damage so severe that it was necessary to beach the steamer.[35] Early reports were not able to give the extent of the damage.[35]
Some details of the incident were reported to the States Rights Democrat, by their travelling agent, J.M. Marks, and they were that the Alice had been proceeding on the river at a good speed, when about a mile and a half downriver from Buena Vista, the steamer hit a snag, which shoved a good-sized hole into its hull just under the boiler.[36] Buena Vista was 21 miles upriver from Salem.[37]
The captain turned Alice around and ran it onto a bar in the river, otherwise it would have sunk, as there was already 23 inches of water in the boat just four minutes after the snagging.[36] The passengers had to wait on board the stranded steamer for an hour until the Willamette Chief came upon the scene and took them on board.[36] Other steamers came up on Wednesday to assist in the salvage.[36]
Other details, some augmenting, and some conflicting with the State Rights Democrat, were reported in Salem's Willamette Farmer the next day.[38] Captain Bell had been in command.[38] The accident happened about one mile upriver from Buena Vista, and the snag had been newly lodged in the river.[38] Captain Bell beached the steamer on a level bar about 200 yards from the snag strike, where the 150 tons of freight, taken on at Corvallis and Eugene, would be safe.[38]
The afternoon of the wreck, the purser, Mr. J.W. McCully, went downriver to Salem, where he telegraphed to the company Oregon City to send up nails, lumber and carpenters to repair the Alice, and another steamer, either the Fannie Patton or the E.N. Cooke to come up and take off the cargo.[38]
Alice was brought down to the company's boat basin on Monday February 8, 1875, where the damage turned out to be worse than it was first thought to have been.[39]Alice was back in operation by February 26, 1875, when than morning it picked up 5,500 feet of maple lumber from Capital Mills, at Salem, part of a 40,000-foot lot being sawn for the Oregon Furniture Co. of Portland.[40]
New engines
In July 1875 two new engines were scheduled to be cast for Alice at the Willamette Iron Works, with each engine having a cylinder bore of 17 inches and a piston stroke of six feet.[41] These engines, which were larger than the boat's original ones, were installed during the low water period in the fall of 1875, and the steamer was ready to resume operations in November of that year.[42]
1876 schedule on upper river
In January 1876, the Oregon Steamship Company. W.H. McCully, agent, had placed Alice on a schedule of running from Salem to Corvallis and way landings on Mondays and Thursdays of each week.[43] On the return from Corvallis, Alice departed for Portland in the mornings.[43]Alice alternated on this schedule with the O.S.S. Co. steamer Bonanza, which ran for Corvallis on Tuesdays and Fridays.[43] O.S.S. Co. advertised this schedule until April 1876.[44]
1876 transfer to lower river
On May 6, 1876, the Salem Statesman reported that "'a number of citizens on the Upper Willamette, upon learning that the steamer Alice is to be laid up, declare that if Capt. Bell and Doc McCully are not furnished with a boat, they, the people will build one for them."[45]
Sale to Oregon Steam Navigation Company
In late May 1876, Alice, together with all the other steamers and property of the Oregon Steamship Company, was sold to the Willamette Transportation and Locks Company, a subsidiary of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company.[46] With this purchase, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company now controlled all the steamboats on both the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers, except for two, City of Salem and Ohio.[46] In August 1876, Alice, under the control of the Willamette River Transportation and Locks Company, was brought downriver to Portland, to take the place of the Gov. Grover, which was going to the boneyard for repairs.[47]
Towing work
In October 1876 Alice was engaged in towing vessels up and down the Columbia River, under Capt. Billy Smith.[48] Among numerous reported tows: on the afternoon of September 12, 1877, Alice brought the ship Greta, a British vessel, alongside the wharf of the Wallamet River Canal and Locks Company, in Astoria, Oregon, where the Greta would load additional cargo before departing for Europe.[49] On Sunday, January 9, 1881, the steamer Alice, with Captain Strang piloting towed the Orient to Knappton, W.T.[50]
Accidents
On Saturday afternoon, December 15, 1877, George W. Weldon, a Portland hotel runner, was drowned at Swan Island; while trying to board the steamer Alice from a skiff, the skiff overturned and Weldon was thrown into the river.[51]
Disposition
OSN steamboat boneyard, Portland, Oregon, in 1892.
By early June 1889, Alice had been at the boneyard for about three years, when the boat sank, with the water coming up a little over its decks.[30] The "boneyard" was the name for a place alongside the Willamette River which had been established by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company for the storage and dismantling of steamers that were no longer in service.[52] Steamboats were also built, repaired, and reconstructed at the boneyard.
Alice had been used to pump water out of barges and other hulls at the boneyard.[30] The machinery was reported to be "still good and in fair order."[30]Alice was scheduled to be raised on June 5, 1889, and possibly a new hull would be built under the boat.[30]
Notes
1 2 3 Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). "Lost Towns of Willamette Falls ... Canemah, "The Canoe Place"". Willamette Landings – Ghost Towns of the River (2nded.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. p.66. ISBN0875950426.
↑ Mills, Randall V. (1947). "Appendix A: Steamers of the Columbia River System". Sternwheelers up Columbia – A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska. p.189. ISBN0-8032-5874-7. LCCN77007161.
↑ Affleck, Edward L. (2000). "Part One: Chapter Two: Columbia River Waterways — List of Vessels". A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska (incorrectly stating year of construction as 1873). Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. p.7. ISBN0-920034-08-X.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "A TRIAL TRIP.— Last Saturday, by invitation of Hon. J.D. Biles, we took an excursion on the Steamer Alice ...", Oregon City Enterprise, vol.8, no.4, p.3, col.1., Nov 21, 1873
↑ Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). "Willamette River Steamboat Landings, compiled in 1940 by Captain Arthur Riggs". Willamette Landings – Ghost Towns of the River (2nded.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. pp.214–218. ISBN0875950426.
↑ Timmen, Fritz (1973). "Distance Tables". Blow for the Landing – A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers. pp.228, 229. ISBN0-87004-221-1. LCCN73150815.
↑ Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). "Trade Towns of Yesterday ... The Red Kilns of Buena Vista". Willamette Landings – Ghost Towns of the River (2nded.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. p.138. ISBN0875950426.
Gazelle was an early sidewheeler on the Willamette River in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. She did not operate long, suffering a catastrophic boiler explosion on April 8, 1854, less than a month after her trial voyage. This was the worst such explosion ever to occur in the Pacific Northwest states. The wrecked Gazelle was rebuilt and operated for a few years, first briefly as the unpowered barge Sarah Hoyt and then, with boilers installed, as the steamer Señorita. A victim of the explosion was D.P. Fuller, age 28, who is buried in Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.
Pomona was a steamboat which operated on the Willamette, Columbia and Cowlitz rivers from 1898 to 1940. Pomona was specially designed to operate in low water conditions such as typically prevailed in the summer months in Oregon. Pomona was one of the few steamers that could regularly navigate to Corvallis, Oregon which was the practical head of navigation on the Willamette. In 1926, Pomona was substantially rebuilt, and served afterwards as a towboat. In 1940, Pomona was converted into an unpowered floating storehouse.
Grahamona was a sternwheel steamboat built in 1912 for the Oregon City Transportation Company, commonly known as the Yellow Stack Line. Grahamona was specially designed to serve on the shallow waters of the upper Willamette River. It was one of the largest steamboats ever to operate on the upper Willamette. In 1920, Grahamona was sold and the name was changed to Northwestern. In 1939, the vessel was sold again, and transferred to Alaska for service on the Kuskokwim River.
Three Sisters was a sternwheel-driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette River from 1886 to 1896. The steamer was built as an extreme shallow-draft vessel, to permit it to reach points on the upper Willamette river such as Corvallis, Harrisburg and Eugene, Oregon during summer months when water levels in the river were generally low. The vessel was also known for having been washed up on a county road in Oregon during a flood in 1890.
Unio was a small sternwheel-driven steamboat which operated on the Willamette and Yamhill rivers from 1861 to 1869. This vessel is primarily remembered for its having been named Unio when built in 1861, in the first year of the American Civil War, and then having the name completed, to Union, by a new, staunchly pro-Union owner, James D. Miller. Union appears to have sunk in 1869, been salvaged, and then dismantled, with the machinery going to a new steamer then being built for service on the Umpqua River.
The People's Transportation Company operated steamboats on the Willamette River and its tributaries, the Yamhill and Tualatin rivers, in the State of Oregon from 1862 to 1871. For a brief time this company operated steamers on the Columbia River, and for about two months in 1864, the company operated a small steamer on the Clackamas River.
Shoo Fly was a sternwheel-driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the 1870s. Originally built as primarily as a freight boat, the vessel was used in other roles, including towing and clearing of snags. Shoo Fly inspired the name of another sternwheeler on the Willamette River, Don't Bother Me.
Enterprise was a sternwheel steamboat that operated on the Willamette River from 1863 to 1875. This vessel should not be confused with several other steamers named Enterprise which operated in the Pacific Northwest at about the some time.
Alert was a sternwheeler steamboat which operated on the Willamette River, in Oregon, United States, from 1865 to 1875. Originally built for and owned by the Willamette Steam Navigation Co., it was soon acquired by the People's Transportation Company, a steamboat line which held a near-monopoly on Willamette River transportation. This vessel was rebuilt in 1871, and ran until 1875, when it was dismantled.
Wenat was a stern-wheel steamboat that, under the name Swan, was built and operated, briefly, on the Tualatin River, in the state of Oregon. In 1858, Swan was sold, moved to the lower Willamette River, renamed Cowlitz, and placed on a route between Portland, Oregon the Cowlitz River.
Minnehaha was a sternwheel-driven steamboat which was built in 1866 on Oswego Lake, then known as Sucker Lake, in Oregon, United States. Minnehaha was later transferred to the Willamette and Columbia rivers where it operated for the first part of the 1870s.
Dayton was a steamboat which operated on the Willamette and Columbia rivers from 1868 to 1881. Dayton operated on the Willamette from 1868 to 1876, mostly upriver from Willamette Falls, including a route on the Yamhill River to Dayton, Oregon, after which the steamer was named. From 1876 to 1881, Dayton was employed on a run from Portland to Monticello, W.T., which was located on the site of what is now Longview, Washington.
Senator was a stern-wheel-driven steamboat which operated on the Willamette River in the state of Oregon from 1863 to 1875. Senator is chiefly remembered for its having been destroyed in a fatal boiler explosion in 1875 while making a landing at the Portland, Oregon waterfront in 1875.
Albany was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette River from 1868 to 1875. This vessel should not be confused with the later sternwheeler Albany, which ran, also on the Willamette River, from 1896 to 1906, when it was rebuilt and renamed Georgie Burton.
Onward was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Tualatin River from 1867 to 1873, on Sucker Lake, now known as Oswego Lake, from 1873 to 1874, on the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers. This vessel should not be confused with the similar sternwheeler Onward built in 1858 at Canemah, Oregon and dismantled in 1865.
Occident was a steamer that operated on the Willamette River and occasionally its tributary, the Santiam River from 1875 to about 1890. Occident was designed primarily for freight work, and did not have passenger accommodations. This Occident should not be confused with the smaller steam launch Occident, apparently propeller-driven, which operated out of Astoria, Oregon in the 1890s.
Active was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the upper Willamette River from 1865 to 1872. During its short operational life, Active was owned by several different steamboat companies. It was dismantled in 1872 at Canemah, Oregon.
George Anson Pease was a well-known steamboat captain in the Pacific Northwest region on the United States, who was active from the earliest days of steamboat navigation on the Willamette River in the 1850s. He worked in various roles until the early 1900s, commanding numerous vessels during that time. During a flood in 1861, while in command of the sternwheeler Onward, Pease rescued 40 people from a flood in the area of Salem, Oregon.
Fanny Patton was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette River, in Oregon, starting in August 1865. This steamer operated from 1865 to 1880 for various owners, and was a considered a profitable vessel. The steamer was named for the daughter of businessman Edwin N Cook, Frances Mary "Fannie" Cooke (1837–1886). Edwin N. Cook was one of the principals of the People's Transportation Company.
Orient was a light-draft sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1875 for the Willamette River Transportation Company, a concern owned by pioneer businessman Ben Holladay. Shortly after its completion, it was acquired by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. Orient was a near-twin vessel of a steamer built at the same time, the Occident.
References
Printed sources
Affleck, Edward L. (2000). A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska. Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. ISBN0-920034-08-X.
Newell, Gordon R., ed. (1966). H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: Superior Pub. Co. LCCN66025424.
Timmen, Fritz (1973). Blow for the Landing – A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers. ISBN0-87004-221-1. LCCN73150815.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
