John H. Couch (side-wheeler)

Last updated
John W Couch (sidewheeler).jpg
Steamer John H. Couch sometime between 1863 and 1870.
History
Route Willamette and Columbia rivers
BuilderJohn Bruce
IdentificationU.S. # 13622
FateDismantled
General characteristics
Class and typeriverine all-purpose
Tonnage255.24 gross register tons
Length122 ft (37.2 m)
Beam21 ft (6.4 m) over hull (exclusive of guards).
Installed powersteam engines, with bore of 14.375 in (365.1 mm) and stroke of 54 ft (16.46 m).
Propulsionside-wheels

John H. Couch was a side-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Columbia and lower Willamette rivers from 1863 to 1873. Informally the vessel was known as the Couch.

Contents

Construction

John H. Couch was built at Westport, Oregon in 1863. [1] The boat was named after a prominent seaman, John H. Couch, who was also Oregon’s first inspector of hulls. [1] The boat was built by Capt. Charles Holman, D. Huntington, and Capt. Oliff Olsen. [1] Holman owned one-half of the boat, with the others holding a one-third and a one-sixth share, respectively. [1]

The shipbuilder was John Bruce, of Astoria. [2]

Design, dimensions, and engineering

John H. Couch was a side-wheel driven vessel. It was built to run from Portland to Astoria, Oregon. [1] The official merchant vessel registry number was 13622. [3]

John H. Couch was 122 ft (37.2 m) long, with a beam of 21 ft (6.4 m), exclusive of the guards and the paddle-wheel housings. [1] Gross tonnage was 255.24 tons. [3] The engines had cylinders with an inside bore of 14 and three-eighths inches with a stroke of 54 inches. [1]

Operations

Advertisement for John H. Couch, November 10, 1866. John H Couch (steamboat ad).jpg
Advertisement for John H. Couch, November 10, 1866.

John H. Couch operated for a time in opposition to the dominant steamboat concern on the river, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. [1] O.S.N was running the steamer Julia against the Couch on the Astoria route. [1]

In January 1865, O.S.N. bought the Couch, as well as the steamers Cowlitz (ex Swan) and Belle, which were also owned by Holman, Huntington, and Olsen. [1] Once O.S.N. had the Couch, it withdrew Julia from the Astoria route. [1]

O.S.N. kept the Couch on the Astoria run under Capt. J.O. Van Bergen, as master, with Richard Hoyt, Jr. as purser. [1] During summer, the boat was sometimes engaged in excursion business. [1] Van Bergen was succeed in command by Capt. Henry A. Snow, who remained in charge until 1870. [1]

In November 1866, the Couch had a contract to carry the U.S. mail from Portland to Astoria. [4] Captain Snow was then in command. [4] Couch left Portland for Astoria and way landings at 6:00 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays of each week. [4] Returning, Couch departed Astoria on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 6:00 a.m. [4]

Captain Grenville Reed was also reported to have been in command of the John H. Couch for five years. [5]

Disposition

By 1870, Couch was no longer fit to carry passengers and was retired from service. [1] In January 1873, Couch was dismantled, with the boat’s engines being salvaged and sent to the upper Columbia, to be installed on another steamer. [1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Wright, E.W., ed. (1895). "Chapter VI: The Oregon Steam Navigation Company's Best Days, Many New Steamers in Puget Sound Waters". Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. pp. 117–118, 123. LCCN   28001147.
  2. "Ship Building". Oregon City Enterprise. 1 (38). Oregon City, OR: D.C. Ireland. July 13, 1867. p.2, col.1.
  3. 1 2 U.S. Treasury Dept, Statistics Bureau (1870). Annual List of Merchant Vessels (FY end Jun 30, 1869). 2. Wash. DC: GPO. p. 118.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ainsworth, John C.; Oregon Steam Navigation Co. (November 10, 1866). "Astoria Route — The U.S. Mail Steamer John H. Couch". Oregon City Enterprise (advertisement). Oregon City, OR. p.3, col.4.
  5. "Veteran Pilot is Dead — Captain Grenville Reed Passes Away at Astoria, Aged 73". Morning Oregonian. 52 (16, 276). Portland, OR. January 23, 1913. p.4, col.5.

Related Research Articles

<i>Jennie Clark</i>

Jennie Clark, also seen spelled Jenny Clark, was the first sternwheel-driven steamboat to operate on the rivers of the Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia. This vessel was commonly known as the Jennie when it was in service. The design of the Jennie Clark set a pattern for all future sternwheel steamboats built in the Pacific Northwest and in British Columbia.

<i>Portland</i> (sidewheeler 1853)

Portland was a side wheel steamer built at Portland, Oregon in the summer of 1853. This vessel was chiefly remembered for its dramatic destruction in 1857 by being washed over Willamette Falls, an incident which killed its captain and a deckhand. The death of the captain, Arthur Jamieson, was one of at least four brothers, all steamboat officers, who were killed in three separate steamboating accidents occurring between 1857 and 1861 in Oregon and in British Columbia.

<i>Wallamet</i> (1853 sidewheeler)

Wallamet was a sidewheel-driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette and Columbia rivers in Oregon and later on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers in California. Built in a Mississippi river style that was not suited to the conditions of these rivers, and suffering from construction defects, Wallamet was not a financially successful vessel. The name of this vessel is often seen spelled as Willamette.

<i>Unio</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

Peoples Transportation Company

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.

<i>Shoo Fly</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

<i>Enterprise</i> (sternwheeler 1863)

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.

<i>Alert</i> (sternwheeler 1865)

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.

<i>James Clinton</i> (sternwheeler)

James Clinton was a steamboat which operated on the upper Willamette River from 1856 to 1861. Although the Clinton was said to have been "not a very good boat.", it was the first steamer ever to reach Eugene, Oregon. James Clinton was destroyed in April 1861, when a large fire broke out at Linn City, Oregon in a shoreside structure near to where the vessel was moored.

<i>Wenat</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

<i>Senator</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

<i>Albany</i> (1868 sternwheeler)

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.

<i>Occident</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

<i>Active</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

<i>No Wonder</i> (sternwheeler)

No Wonder was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette, Columbia and Cowlitz rivers from 1889 to 1930. No Wonder was originally built in 1877 as Wonder, which was dismantled in 1888, with components being shifted over to a new hull, which when launched in late 1889 was called No Wonder.

<i>Telephone</i> (sternwheeler)

Telephone was a sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1884 by Captain Uriah Bonsor "U.B." Scott for service on the Columbia River. Reputedly the fastest steamboat in the world in its time, Telephone served on the Columbia River and San Francisco Bay. Telephone was rebuilt at least twice. The first time was after a fire in 1887 which nearly destroyed the vessel. The reconstructed and much larger second vessel was sometimes referred to as Telephone No. 2. The third vessel, Telephone No. 3, built in 1903 and using components from the second steamer was larger but little used during its time on the Columbia river.

<i>Orient</i> (sternwheeler)

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.

<i>Governor Newell</i> (sternwheeler)

Governor Newell was a sternwheel-driven steamboat that operated from 1883 to 1902 in the Pacific Northwest.

<i>Clara Parker</i> (sternwheeler)

Clara Parker was a sternwheel-driven steamboat which was operated on the lower Columbia and lower Willamette rivers in the 1880s. The steamer ran for about ten years out of Astoria, Oregon in towing and jobbing work. In 1890 Clara Parker was rebuilt and renamed Astorian.

<i>Undine</i> (Columbia River sternwheeler)

Undine was a sternwheel-driven steamboat that operated from 1887 to 1935 on the Columbia and lower Willamette rivers. From 1935 to 1940 the same vessel was operated under the name The Dalles.

References

Printed sources

On-line newspaper collections