Joseph Kellogg was a well-known steamboat captain and businessman of Portland, Oregon.
Joseph Kellogg was a well-known steamboat captain and businessman of Portland, Oregon.
Joseph Kellogg was born in Canada on June 12, 1812. His father Orrin Kellogg (September 4, 1790 – February 14, 1872) was born in St. Albans, Vermont, and his mother Margaret Miller Kellogg was Canadian. After the War of 1812, his family moved first to New York and then to Ohio. Kellogg was trained as a millwright. [1]
In 1847 the Kellogg family crossed the plains to Oregon. They left Wood county, Ohio, November 24, 1847, with horse-drawn wagons. At Cincinnati, Ohio they shipped by steamer to St. Louis, and from there drove to St. Joseph, Missouri where they wintered. [1]
In May a company of thirty wagons started on journey across the plains. They had covered wagons and were provided with tin stoves and all the arms and provisions needed for such a journey. The emigrant party later exchanged their horses for oxen. They were able to travel nearly twenty-five miles a day, and arrived at Milwaukie, Oregon on September 8, 1848. [1]
On arrival in Oregon, the heads of the families took up adjoining donation land claims of 640 acres (2.6 km2) each, on which they erected cabins. Kellogg built the first commercial flour mill in Oregon. He also built several of the first sawmills. Kellogg's land claim was next to that of Lot Whitcomb, at Milwaukie. Kellogg, Whitcomb and William Torrence laid out the town site of what they hoped would be the principal city in Oregon. [1]
In Milwaukie, Kellogg built a sawmill and a schooner. [2] Kellogg, Whitcomb and Torrence loaded the schooner with provisions from the adjoining farms, took it to California, and there sold both vessel and cargo, and with the proceeds they bought the brig Forest, which they used in the lumber trade between Oregon and California. Lumber in Sacramento was at that time worth $200 for 1,000 board feet. The firm soon made money enough to purchase the bark Louisiana, which was fitted with engines and boilers and the complete outfit of a steamship. [1]
In the spring of 1850, Kellogg, Whitcomb and Torrence began building the sidewheel steamer Lot Whitcomb, which was either the first or the second large steam craft ever built in Oregon. They launched this boat on December 25, 1850. Kellogg was one of the owners of the boat, as well as of the site of the new city of Milwaukie. Under the initial command of Capt. John C. Ainsworth, Lot Whitcomb ran between Milwaukie and Astoria for several years, after which they sold it in San Francisco. Later Kellogg withdrew from the firm, forming a partnership with Bradbury and Eddy, who together built the Standard Flour Mills, which for years were the most extensive in the state of Oregon. [1]
In 1863 Kellogg built the sternwheeler Senator, which he sold to the People's Transportation Company. Kellogg became an owner of the People's Transportation Company in 1864. In 1867, Kellogg superintended the building of a basin above Willamette Falls, in 1867, which made it much easier to traverse the portage between the portions of the Willamette River above and below Willamette Falls. [1] Kellogg was also connected with Capt. George A. Pease in the first navigation of the Tualatin River with the steamboat Onward, [2] and they also constructed the canal between that river and Sucker Lake, making it possible to bring freight from the Tualatin River to Oswego and thence to the Willamette river. Kellogg also laid out the town of Oswego. [1]
In 1870 the People's Transportation Company sold out to Ben Holladay, and soon afterward the Willamette Transportation Company was formed, of which Kellogg became vice-president and director. Under Kellogg's supervision, this company built the steamboats Governor Grover and Beaver. [1]
Soon later Kellogg sold out his interest in the Willamette Transportation Company and its boats, and formed a new transportation company with his brother, Jason, and his two sons. Kellogg then built the steamboats Joseph Kellogg and Toledo and placed his boats on the Columbia River, on the line to Washougal, Washington and the Cowlitz River. His two sons, Captains Orrin and Charles H., were put in command of these boats. The firm was incorporated as the Joseph Kellogg Transportation Company, and it became one of the most successful steamboat lines on the Columbia river. [1] [3]
Kellogg's son Charles H. Kellogg became a successful steamboat captain, but died before his father on August 7, 1889. Kellogg's other son Orrin lived much longer, and was also a successful captain. Kellogg died November 30, 1903, and is buried at the Greenwood Hills Cemetery, Portland, Oregon along with his wife Estella. Kellogg had a child, Harvey, who died in infancy. [1] Kellogg lived to the age of 91, and at his death was the senior river pilot. Kellogg was also a prominent Mason.
Many steamboats operated on the Columbia River and its tributaries, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, from about 1850 to 1981. Major tributaries of the Columbia that formed steamboat routes included the Willamette and Snake rivers. Navigation was impractical between the Snake River and the Canada–US border, due to several rapids, but steamboats also operated along the Wenatchee Reach of the Columbia, in northern Washington, and on the Arrow Lakes of southern British Columbia.
The Willamette River flows northwards down the Willamette Valley until it meets the Columbia River at a point 101 miles from the Pacific Ocean, in the U.S. state of Oregon.
The Cowlitz River flows into the Columbia River at a point 68 miles from the Columbia's mouth, in southwestern Washington, United States.
Launched in 1850, Lot Whitcomb, later known as Annie Abernathy, was the first steam-powered craft built on the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. She was one of the first steam-driven vessels to run on the inland waters of Oregon, and contributed to the rapid economic development of the region.
Onward was an early steamboat on the Willamette River built at Canemah, Oregon in 1858. This vessel should not be confused other steamboats named Onward, including in particular the Onward of 1867, a similar but somewhat smaller vessel built at Tualatin Landing, which operated on the Tualatin River under Capt. Joseph Kellogg.
Governor Grover was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Willamette River during the 1870s. Because of the completion of the Willamette Locks in late 1872, it was possible for vessels such as Governor Grover to be built in Portland, Oregon and then readily navigate the Willamette above Willamette Falls.
Lot Whitcomb (1807–1857) was an American commercial entrepreneur and politician who established the city of Milwaukie, Oregon. After making a fortune milling and shipping lumber and timber for California gold miners, Whitcomb launched the first steamship in the U.S. state of 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Northwest was a steamboat that operated on the Columbia, Cowlitz and lower Willamette rivers from 1889 to 1907. In 1907 Northwest was transferred to Alaska, where it sank on the Skeena River
Joseph Kellogg was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette, Columbia, and Cowlitz rivers for the Kellogg Transportation Company. It was named after the company's founder, Joseph Kellogg (1812-1903). The sternwheeler Joseph Kellogg was built in 1881 at Portland, Oregon.
Chester was a shallow draft steamboat built in 1897 that ran until 1917, mostly on the Cowlitz River in southwestern Washington.
