Ferries and steamboats of Lake Crescent, Washington

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Lake Crescent Ferry
Ferry Storm King disembarking vehicles at Piedmont WA.jpg
Ferry Storm King disembarking passengers at Piedmont on Lake Crescent
Waterway Lake Crescent, Washington
Route East BeachFairholm
Authority Clallam County, private owners
Began operation 1914
Ended operation 1922
Successor US 101.svg U.S. Route 101
System length 12 miles
No. of vessels multiple (Storm King and others)

Ferries and steamboats of Lake Crescent, Washington were used for water transport of passengers and freight before highways were built in the area in the early 1920s. Prior to highway construction, Lake Crescent was used as a route from Port Townsend into the northwestern part of the Olympic Peninsula. Ferries, steamboats and similar water craft were built and used on the lake until the Olympic Highway was completed along the south shore of the lake in 1922.

Port Townsend, Washington City in Washington, United States

Port Townsend is a city in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,113 at the 2010 United States Census and an estimated 9,551 in 2017. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to its natural scenery at the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, the city is known for the many Victorian buildings remaining from its late 19th-century heyday, numerous annual cultural events, and as a maritime center for independent boatbuilders and related industries and crafts. The Port Townsend Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District.

U.S. Route 101 (US 101) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs along the Pacific Coast from Los Angeles, California to Tumwater, Washington. Within the state of Washington, US 101 connects cities on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and encircles the Olympic Peninsula around the Olympic Mountains and Olympic National Park.

Contents

Points accessed by water

Lake Crescent Lodge

Lake Crescent Lodge was originally known as Singer's Lake Crescent Tavern, built by Avery J and Julia Singer in the early part of the last century. The ferries on the lake ran to points west from the East Beach dock near the tavern. [1]

Ovington's Resort

Ovington's was located along the north shore of Lake Crescent, near the modern North Shore picnic area. Built by Edward J. "Ned" Ovington and his wife Emily in 1905, it was one of the most popular resorts on the lake. Guests to Ovington's first arrived by boat, before the construction of the north shore road. [1]

Marymere Hotel

The Barnes family built the Marymere Hotel in 1906. It was located at Barnes Point at the narrowest part of the lake, on the south shore, at the base of Mount Storm King. Until the road was built on the shore of the lake, guests of the Marymere arrived by boat. The hotel burned down around 1914. [1]

Mount Storm King mountain in United States of America

Mount Storm King is located within the Olympic National Park about 20 miles west of Port Angeles, Washington. The mountain is located on the south side of Lake Crescent near Barnes Point, and has an elevation of 4,500+ feet.

Construction and operations

In 1913, Michael Earles, owner of the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, built on Lake Crescent the gasoline-launch Betty Earles (named after his daughter) to take guests bound for his lodge from the head of the lake to Fairholm, at the western end, where they would disembark and ride motor buses up to his resort. The boat was large for the lake, 65' long, 16.5' on the beam, with an 80 horsepower (60 kW) heavy-duty Frisco Standard engine. [2]

<i>Betty Earles</i>

Betty Earles was a small gasoline-powered vessel built in 1913 on Lake Crescent, Washington. The vessel was transferred to Puget Sound in about 1919 and remained in service there until at least 1958.

The next year, 1914, Captain O.D. Treiber designed for Clallam County the gasoline-powered side wheel ferry Marjory, which was 65' long, 27' on the beam, and powered by an 18 horsepower (13 kW) Field engine. Marjory was operated on the same route as the Betty Earles, and had a capacity of seven automobiles and 50 passengers. [3]

Clallam County, Washington County in the United States

Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 71,404. The county seat and largest city is Port Angeles. The name is a Klallam word for "the strong people". The county was formed on April 26, 1854. Located on the Olympic Peninsula, it is south from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which forms the Canada–US border, as British Columbia's Vancouver Island is across the strait.

Treiber designed another, larger ferry for the Lake Crescent service. This was Storm King, named after a mountain overlooking the lake. Like Marjory, Storm King was a sidewheeler, but much larger. On deck, she was 112' long and measured 31.5' on the beam across her wheels. (Her hull measurements were 90' long, 20.5' on the beam.) Storm King, powered by a 40 horsepower (30 kW) Fairbanks-Morse engine, was probably the largest vessel ever on Lake Crescent. She could carry 21 automobiles and 150 passengers, exactly triple the capacity of Marjory. [4]

Michael Earles’ Sol Duc lodge burned down around 1918, and he moved Betty Earles off Lake Crescent to serve on Puget Sound under the command of Captain O. G. Olson. Later, in 1924, Betty Earles was sold to Tacoma Tug & Barge Co. Remarkably, Betty Earles was still in service as a tug as late as 1958, still under her old name. [5]

Lake Crescent also supported its own little fleet of steam and gasoline launches, with idyllic or at least speedy-sounding names: Lady of the Lake, Olympus, Greyhound, and Flyer.

Related Research Articles

Fairholm, Washington campground in Washington, United States

Fairholm is a campground in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The community is located at the west end of Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park. Fairholm also features a general store, cafe, and other park-related buildings.

Steamboats of the Oregon Coast

The history of steamboats on the Oregon Coast begins in the late 19th century. Before the development of modern road and rail networks, transportation on the coast of Oregon was largely water-borne. This article focuses on inland steamboats and similar craft operating in, from south to north on the coast: Rogue River, Coquille River, Coos Bay, Umpqua River, Siuslaw Bay, Yaquina Bay, Siletz River, and Tillamook Bay. The boats were all very small, nothing like the big sternwheelers and propeller boats that ran on the Columbia River or Puget Sound. There were many of them, however, and they came to be known as the "mosquito fleet."

Steamboats of the Coquille River

The Coquille River starts in the Siskiyou National Forest and flows hundreds of miles through the Coquille Valley on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Bandon, Oregon, sits at the mouth of the Coquille River on the Pacific Ocean. Before the era of railroads and later, automobiles, the steamboats on the Coquille River were the major mode of transportation from Bandon to Coquille and Myrtle Point in southern Coos County, Oregon, United States.

Lake Washington steamboats and ferries

Lake Washington steamboats and ferries operated from about 1875 to 1951, transporting passengers, vehicles and freight across Lake Washington, a large lake to the east of Seattle, Washington. Before modern highways and bridges were built, the only means of crossing the lake, other than the traditional canoe, was by steamboat, and, later, by ferry. While there was no easily navigable connection to Puget Sound, the Lake Washington Ship Canal now connects Lake Washington to Lake Union, and from there Puget Sound is reached by way of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.

King and Winge Shipbuilding Company

The King and Winge Shipbuilding Company was an important maritime concern in the early 1900s on Puget Sound. The shipyard was located at West Seattle. The owners were Thomas J. King (1843–1925) and Albert M Winge. King was born in Boston and learned to build ships under the famous Donald McKay. He came to Puget Sound in about 1880, and worked in the shipyards of Hall Bros. and T.W. Lake before starting his own shipyard with Winge. King’s partner, Albert L. Winge was a native of Norway.

Hunt Brothers (steamboat line)

The Hunt Brothers were the owners of a steamboat business that ran on Puget Sound as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. Five of the seven Hunt children became owners, engineers and masters of steamboats, these were Emmett E., Arthur.M., A.R, L.B., and F.M. Hunt.

<i>Triton</i> (steamboat) steamboat that operated on Lake Washington, USA

The steamboat Triton was a vessel that operated on Lake Washington in the first part of the 20th century.

<i>Islander</i> (steamboat) American steamboat, 1904 1924

For the passenger steamer that sank in 1901, see SS Islander

Barnes Point is an ancient landslide delta that juts out into Lake Crescent in Clallam County, Washington. As one of the few areas of relatively flat ground near Lake Crescent, it hosts Lake Crescent Lodge, the Storm King Ranger Station of Olympic National Park, as well as several private homes. It also contains the trails which access Mount Storm King, Marymere Falls, and Barnes Creek. Barnes Creek flows through an old-growth forest, providing spawning habitat for the endemic Crescenti cutthroat trout.

<i>King County</i> (steam ferry) steam ferry ship

King County was a steam ferry built in 1900 which served on Lake Washington until 1908.

<i>Storm King</i> (ferry) ferry

Storm King was a gasoline-powered sidewheel-driven ferry built in 1915 on Lake Crescent, Washington.

East Beach, Washington Unincorporated community in Washington, United States

East Beach was an unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The community is located at the east end of Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park.

<i>Sioux</i> (steamship)

Sioux was a steamship which was operated on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca from 1912 to 1941. From 1924 to 1941, following reconstruction, the vessel operated as an auto ferry under the name Olympic. During the Second World War (1941-1945) this vessel was taken under the control of the U.S. Army and renamed the Franklin R. Leisenburg. The Liesenburg served as a ferry in the Panama Canal area under Army control, and then was sold to a firm which ran the vessel on the Surinam river in South America.

<i>Atlanta</i> (steamboat 1908) steamboat built in 1908

Atlanta was a steamboat built in 1908 at Houghton, Washington which served on Lake Washington and Puget Sound until 1938, when it was converted into a diesel-powered houseboat.

<i>Suquamish</i> (motor vessel)

Suquamish, built in 1914, was the first diesel-engined passenger vessel in the United States. Much later Suquamish was converted to a commercial fishing vessel and was registered as a Canadian vessel under the name Terry.

<i>Speeder</i> (motor vessel)

Speeder was a motor launch built in 1908 which served on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. From 1908 to 1922 this vessel was named Bainbridge.

Lake Crescent Lodge

Lake Crescent Lodge, originally called Singer's Lake Crescent Tavern, is a historic resort situated on the shores of Lake Crescent west of Port Angeles, Washington. Located on the Olympic Peninsula within Olympic National Park, the Lodge is owned by the National Park Service and operated by Aramark. The Lodge resort is open seasonally from early May until the end of January with select cabins available during the winter months. Hiking and boating are popular activities for guests, and several peaks, including Mount Storm King and Pyramid Mountain, are easily accessible from the resort. Other hiking opportunities include Marymere Falls, Spruce Railroad, and Barnes Creek Trails.

Falcon (gasoline launch)

The launch Falcon operated in Puget Sound and nearby regions, and also on Lake Washington during the first part of the 1900s. The wreck of this vessel has been discovered in Lake Washington not far from Kirkland and is in good condition under 190 feet (58 m) of water. This vessel should not be confused with the steam tug Falcon built in Tacoma, Washington in 1902.

<i>Jessie Harkins</i>

Jessie Harkins was a propeller-driven steamboat that operated on the Columbia River starting in 1903. It was rebuilt at least twice. Originally Jessie Harkins was one of the larger gasoline-engined vessels to operate on the Columbia River. Jessie Harkins was built for the Harkins Transportation Company.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Magnuson, Craig, History of Lake Crescent (accessed 2007-12-29)
  2. Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at page 223, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966 (reprinting a small scale plan of the Betty Earles)
  3. McCurdy, at 244
  4. McCurdy, at 255, showing photo of launch of Storm King. This may be a relaunching following reconstruction with an upper deck, as the sequence of photo links in this article will show.
  5. McCurdy, at 355 and 626