 Mizpah approaching dock in Olympia, circa 1911, with sternwheel of S.G. Simpson visible on right | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Mizpah |
| Builder | Olympia, Washington |
| Laid down | 1901 |
| Launched | 1905 |
| In service | 1905 |
| Out of service | possibly 1960 |
| Refit | Rebuilt after fire, 1915 |
| Fate | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 12 tons |
| Length | 55 ft (17 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Propulsion |
|
The steamboat Mizpah operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. [1]
Construction of Mizpah began in 1901 at Olympia, but the vessel was not launched until 1905, when she was completed by Capt. John C. Ross. Mizpah was propeller-driven, 55 feet (17 m) long, and rated at only 12 tons. [2] Even so, she had two decks, the lower for freight and the upper for passengers and the pilot house. Her first skipper was Capt. Volney C.F. Young, with Capt. Ross acting as engineer.
Mizpah served points on upper Puget Sound running from Olympia to Hunter's Point, Rolling Bay, Oyster Bay, and Kamilche. Gordon Newell described Mizpah ’s role in the early maritime transportation network:
[A]s a steamboat, she was typical of the small craft that carried the mail and groceries, milk cans and mail order catalogs to the settlements that only saw the big steamers as flashes of white speeding towards the cities. [3]
Captain Ross fell overboard from Mizpah in September 1906 and was drowned. He had left the engine room to catch some air after the boat had gone around Windy Point. The fireman noticed him missing a few minutes later and alerted Captain Young, who turned the boat about and tried to find Captain Ross, but could not. His body turned up a week later. Captain Ross left a wife and two children. His widow later married Captain Young.At some point, Mizpah seems to have come into the ownership of Captain Hopkins of Olympia, who in 1911 replaced her on the Oyster Bay and Kamilche run with the gasoline-powered passenger and freight boat Chickaree, which he had bought from Capt. F.G. Reeve.[ citation needed ]
In 1915, Mizpah burned to the waterline. Enough was left of her hull to allow her to be rebuilt as a tug. In 1920, minus her passenger cabin and pilot house, she was being operated by Captain Young with the tug Prospector as part of his Capital City Tug Company. [4] [5] In about 1921, she was converted from a gasoline power plant to 60 horsepower (45 kW) Fairbanks-Morse diesel propulsion.[ citation needed ]
Mizpah was still in operation in 1951, and possibly as late as 1960, working as a tug and tow boat on upper Puget Sound. [6]
The Puget Sound mosquito fleet was a multitude of private transportation companies running smaller passenger and freight boats on Puget Sound and nearby waterways and rivers. This large group of steamers and sternwheelers plied the waters of Puget Sound, stopping at every waterfront dock. The historical period defining the beginning and end of the mosquito fleet is ambiguous, but the peak of activity occurred between the First and Second World Wars.
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 or rowboat, 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.
The sternwheeler Multnomah was built at East Portland, Oregon in 1885 and operated on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers until 1889 in the United States. She was later transferred to Puget Sound and became one of the better known steamboats operating there.
The Dove was a 196 ton propeller-driven steamboat built in Portland, Oregon in 1889. Launched as Typhoon, she operated in the late 1890s and early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet and also for a time on Grays Harbor. She was later converted into a tug.
The steamboat Defiance operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. In later years this vessel was called Kingston.
The steamboat City of Shelton operated in the 1890s and early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.
The steamboat S.G.Simpson operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. This vessel was later renamed E.G. English.
The steamboat Crystal operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.
The steamboat Fleetwood operated in the 1880s and 1890s on the Columbia River and later as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.
The steamboat Dix operated from 1904 to 1906 as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. She was sunk in a collision which remains one of the most serious transportation accidents in the state of Washington to this day.
The steamboat Clallam operated for about six months from July 1903 to January 1904 in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. She was sunk in a storm on what should have been an ordinary voyage to Victoria, British Columbia.
The steamship Alaskan operated from 1884 to 1889 on the Columbia River and Puget Sound. Alaskan and her near-sistership Olympian were known as "Henry Villard's White Elephants." There were a number of vessels named Alaska and Alaskan, this large side-wheel steamboat should not be confused with them.
The steamboat Rosalie operated from 1893 to 1918 as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet, also operating out of Victoria, B.C. In 1898, Rosalie went north with many other Puget Sound steamboats to join the Klondike Gold Rush.
The Greyhound was an express passenger steamer that operated from the 1890s to about 1915 on Puget Sound in Washington, United States. This vessel, commonly known as the Hound, the Pup, or the Dog, was of unusual design, having small upper works, but an enormous sternwheel. Unlike many sternwheelers, she was not intended for a dual role as passenger and freighter, but was purpose-built to carry mostly passengers on express runs.
The sidewheeler Idaho was a steamboat that ran on the Columbia River and Puget Sound from 1860 to 1898. There is some confusion as to the origins of the name; many historians have proposed it is the inspiration for the name of the State of Idaho. Considerable doubt has been cast on this due to the fact that it is unclear if the boat was named before or after the idea of 'Idaho' as a territory name was proposed. John Ruckel also allegedly stated he had named the boat after a Native American term meaning 'Gem of the Mountains' he got from a mining friend from what is now Colorado territory. This steamer should not be confused with the many other vessels of the same name, including the sternwheeler Idaho built in 1903 for service on Lake Coeur d'Alene and the steamship Idaho of the Pacific Coast Steamship Line which sank near Port Townsend, Washington.
Tacoma was a steamship that served from 1913 to 1938 on Puget Sound. Built of steel, Tacoma was known for being one of the fastest and best-designed vessels to operate on Puget Sound. Tacoma was particularly noted for high-speed service from 1913 to 1930 on the route between Tacoma and Seattle.
North Pacific was an early steamboat operating in Puget Sound, on the Columbia River, and in British Columbia and Alaska. The vessel's nickname was "the White Schooner" which was not based on the vessel's rig, but rather on speed, as "to schoon" in nautical parlance originally meant to go fast.
Iola was a small steam vessel that operated on Puget Sound from 1885 to 1915.
Magnolia was a wooden-hulled steamship that operated on Puget Sound from 1907 to 1937.
Richard Holyoke was a seagoing steam tug boat built in 1877 in Seattle, Washington and which was in service on Puget Sound and other areas of the northwest Pacific coast until 1935. The vessel was considered to be one of the most powerful tugs of its time.
