T.M. Richardson was a steamboat built in 1888 at Oneatta, Oregon, which served on Yaquina Bay and on the Yaquina River from 1888 to 1908. This vessel was commonly known as the Richardson or the T.M.[1]
T.M. Richardson was built in 1888 at Oneatta, Oregon by Capt. James T. Chatterton. (b. 1851)[2] The boat measured 64ft (19.51m) long, 14.5ft (4.42m) beam, 5ft (1.52m) depth of hold, 36.38 gross tons and 24.53 registered tons. T.M. Richardson was driving by a steam engine which generated 125 nominal horsepower[3] In 1890, T.M. Richardson was licensed to carry only about 100 persons.[4]
Route
In 1890, Richardson was employed on the water route between Newport and Yaquina City, making the trip twice a day.[4] In 1893, T.M. Richardson was also used to tow rock scows for government engineering works.[5] The water route from Yaquina City to Newport was four miles long.[6]
Career
T.M. Richardson at the dock at Newport. A band is playing on the dock to welcome the new arrivals. There appears to be a barge loaded with passengers on the left side of the steamer.
From 1888 to at least 1895, Captain Chatterton used T.M. Richardson for ferrying and towing on Yaquina Bay, in Lincoln County, on the central Oregon coast.[2]
The original head of navigation on the Yaquina River was Elk City.[7] Elk City was about twenty (20) miles upriver from Yaquina City.[8]
According to B.F. Jones, a steamboat man of Yaquina Bay and river, vessels drawing 8 to 10 feet of water were reported to have been easily able to reach Elk City.[7] This included the Richardson, which drew 6 or 7 feet of water, the General Wright, a government vessel, drawing 8 to 10 feet, and the Volante, a smaller steamer which was reported to have drawn 8.5 to 9 feet of water.[7] However, in 1910 it was claimed that quarrying and logging along the banks of the Yaquina River had caused silt and debris to wash down the river, making it more shallow and less navigable.[7]
The machinery for Richardson came from the Tressa May, also known as the Teresa May, in 1888, when the Tressa May was condemned and taken out of service.[9] The engines were not new even in the Tressa May.[9]
During the winter months of 1888 and 1889, Richardson worked under government contract moving scows of rock and pilings for the construction work on jetties at the mouth of Yaquina Bay.[10]
Captain Chatterton was in charge of the Richardson in 1891.[8]
On April 5, 1893 the Tacoma steamship Alice Blanchard with a cargo of 271 tons of wheat and 100 tons of coal, was sighted in distress off the Yaquina bar. The only steam tug then in Yaquina Bay, the Resolute, was then under repair and unable to assist. Some fishermen did board the Alice Blanchard and succeeded in drifting the vessel over the bar. T.M. Richardson and another Yaquina Bay steamer, Volanta and then went to assist the Alice Blanchard the vessel went aground on the south jetty, about 300 feet (91m) from the tramway then being used for jetty construction. Every rope fastened to the vessel by the steamers parted and the vessel settled in the sand.[5]
On July 4, 1893, Richardson transported 89 passengers from Toledo to Newport.[11]
Quarry service
In later 1893 Richardson was engaged in quarry service.[12] The steamer made its last quarry trip for the year on October 31, 1893, after which it was expected to have been laid up for overhaul and repairs.[12] Richardson was under a monthly contract to the U.S. Corps of Engineers to tow rock barges from the quarry to the jetties which were under construction at the mouth of Yaquina Bay.[13] For this work, as well as incidental transportation on the bay, the owners of Richardson were paid $500 per month, earning a total of $2000 on the contract.[13] While under the contract, Richardson handled 91 scows laden with a total of 21,887 tons of rock, for jetty construction.[13] The quarry was located at Mill Creek, on the Yaquina River, about 12 miles up from Newport.[10] The government had rented the quarry from C.H. Williams for an annual rental of $325 per year.[10]
Later, in April 1897 the steamer was reported to be engaged in transporting building stone from the Rochester quarry to Newport, to be transshipped to San Francisco.[14]
Ownership dispute
In May 1895 there was a dispute between two parties, Moss and Richardson, over ownership of the steamer.[15] Testimony in the dispute was taken at Newport on Tuesday, May 28, 1895 before Referee J. Fred Yates.[15] An earlier report, from February 22, 1894, was that there was a good chance that litigation would arise over the steamer Richardson, with a silent partner in the boat demanding an accounting and a settlement.[16] On October 4, 1895, a writ of attachment, in the amount of $319, was sworn out at the Lincoln County court against the steamer Richardson, representing attorney’s fees said to be owing by H.A. Moss to A.L. McFadden.[17]
In March 1896, Richardson took the place of the steamer Volante, caring passengers, mail and mail and freight between Newport and Yaquina City, after Volante was destroyed by fire.[18]
In the summer of 1896, Richardson was involved in a collision with the much larger ocean-going steamer Farallon, which left Richardson with a smashed guard rail.[19] On Tuesday, July 21, 1896, Richardson was brought up to the gridiron (a form of drydock) at Toledo to have the guard rail repaired, and to be repainted and have other repairs.[19]
In September 1896, the Richardson was chartered by the “Silver forces of Lincoln County for a “Grand Bryan Ratification” to occur on Tuesday, September 15, 1896.[20] The rally was held at Toledo, Oregon. Richardson transported over one hundred people from Newport and Yaquina City.[21] The steamer Mascot also brought in a crowd of Bryan supporters from Elk City.[21] According to a newspaper report, “speaking commenced at 2:30 at the courthouse, first by Hon. J.K. Weatherford, of Albany, who poured in hot shot for Bryan and free silver for an hour and a half.”[21]
In the fall of 1896, Richardson was employed on the lower Yaquina river transporting fish for a cannery at Newport.[22] By October 15, 1896, Richardson was tied up to the dock at Toledo, under the care of the purser, Charley Jahn.[22] The vessel was back in operation by December 31, 1896, when it transported passengers from Newport, Yaquina City, and Toledo to Elk City for a dance.[23]
In February 1897, it was reported that the Western Transportation Company had purchased the T.M. Richardson, and intended to place the vessel on the Newport-Yaquina City route.[24] This would make Richardson the only steamboat on the route, and represented a return to the route, by Richardson, after a “long lay-off”.[24]
In the third week of October 1898, Charley Emigh, mate of the Richardson, fell on deck and landed on a piece of equipment, breaking two ribs.[25]
The steamer Richardson came up to Toledo on the morning of March 10, 1899 to pick up a load of hay.[1]
On May 18, 1900, Richardson was reported to be back in operation, having been in dry dock for repairs.[26]
Operations 1901-1904
In the summer of 1902, the Richardson, under Captain M.M. Davis, a resident of Newport, operated between Newport and the railhead at Yaquina, where passengers from inland points would detrain for transport by water to the ocean resorts.[27][28] Captain Davis had built a passenger-carrying barge to be lashed on to the steamer, and with it, he said the vessel could transport 500 people at once.[27] The 1902 summer season was reported to have been the best for the seaside resorts since the summer of 1897.[27] A later critic of the Richardson, B.F. Jones, stated that even in the best condition, the steamer was never licensed to carry more than 100 persons.,[9]
On September 19, 1903, T.M. Richardson stranded on a bar in the Yaquina River while en route to Newport. Two surfmen from the U.S. Life-Saving Service station at Yaquina Bay reached the Richardson in a small boat. They were able to take off all 28 passengers, as well as the mail and express items. At high tide the vessel was refloated.[29]
In 1904, Newport, Oregon was a small resort community with a year-round population of about 300 people. Yaquina City was about three miles (5km) up Yaquina Bay. In 1904 T.M. Richardson spent most of its time running between Newport and Yaquina City.[30]
In 1904, T.M. Richardson was the only steamboat in service on Yaquina Bay, although there were three or four gasoline launches operating on the Yaquina River.[30] The rail terminus from the Willamette Valley was at Yaquina City, and with no roads to cover the six mile (10km) distance to Newport, the only effective access was by water.
T.M. Richardson continued to be used on this route, often with a barge lashed alongside, to carry additional passengers or baggage.[31]
New ownership
In late 1904, John Marshall and Charles Rivears, two Columbia River steamboat men, and their associates, acquired the steamers and the business of the Western Transportation Company, including the Richardson.[32] Marshall had been the chief engineer on the Columbia river sternwheeler Ocklahama.[32] Reported to have been a wealthy man, Marshall was the uncle of William Marshall, who owned an interest in the former Willamette River sternwheeler Leona, which was then in service on the route between Portland and the Lewis River, in southwestern Washington state.[32]
Both Marshall and Rivears had left the Columbia river steamboat business after a strike in 1902.[32] The new company intended to bring a large steam launch onto Yaquina Bay, and operate it there.[32] The new company also intended to build a new steamer to take the place of the Richardson.[32]
Last years
On May 11, 1906, it was reported that two steamboat inspectors, Edwards and Fuller, would depart the following day from Portland for Yaquina City, to inspect the T.M. Richardson.[33]
T.M. Richardson, with passenger barge, June 1907 or earlier.
For most of the summer of 1907, T.M. Richardson was out of operation undergoing repairs.[34]Richardson had broken its propeller shaft.[35] This was not the only time that Richardson had been out of service during the summer of 1907.[9]
Richardson was replaced on the route by the gasolinelaunchGazelle, which arrived at Yaquina Bay from Portland on Saturday, August 3, 1907.[35] (Gazelle was also expected to be used on fishing expeditions in the open ocean off of Yaquina Bay.[35]) According to a critic of the Richardson, the gasoline launches towed the “same old boathouse scow that the Richardson tows when it is able to navigate.”[9]
By late September 1907, Richardson had been returned to service and was making runs between Newport and Yaquina City, where it met the trains of the Corvallis and Eastern Railroad.[34]
In August 1907, Richardson was being run by Captain Jacobson.[9] The steamer was criticized, in that year, by B.F. Jones, who held a captain’s license and was familiar with marine transportation on Yaquina Bay.[9]
Replacement
In 1908, T.M. Richardson was replaced by a new vessel, the Newport (72ft (21.95m), 81 gross tons). The Newport-Yaquina City route was also purchased by Jack Fogarty and Capt. Jacobson from Capt. Chatterton.[36] The boiler from Richardson was to be placed in the new steamer, Newport, which was built at Yaquina City to replace Richardson.[37]
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."
Yaquina Bay, like Coos Bay, is a shallow coastal bay on the Oregon Coast in the Pacific Northwest of North America. The principal town on Yaquina Bay is Newport, Oregon. The Yaquina River flows into the bay. Until modern roads reached Newport in the late 1920s, the principal transportation method to and from Newport was by ship or boat.
Washington was an early steamboat operated in the states of California and Oregon. Washington was built in California and was initially operated on the Sacramento River. In 1851, the steamer was purchased and brought on a ship to the Oregon Territory, where it was operated on the Willamette River until the summer of 1853. Washington was sold again, and then transferred to the Oregon coast, where it operated on the Umpqua River, on the Coquille River and on Coos Bay. Washington was able to operate for shorter distances over the open ocean along the Oregon coast. The steamer was wrecked by a boiler explosion in December 1857, near Scottsburg, O.T., on the Umpqua river.
Yaquina, at one time a thriving port called Yaquina City, is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is near the mouth of the Yaquina River, on the east side of Yaquina Bay, and is a 3-to-4-mile drive from Newport. The Oregon Press Association, which became the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, was founded in Yaquina City in 1887.
Eva was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Umpqua River on the Oregon coast in the early part of the 1900s. Eva was notable for long service on a short route of about 20 miles. Eva was also notable for having been used by one of its owners to illegally transport dynamite on a passenger-carrying vessel, by the ruse of labeling the dynamite boxes as "bacon."
Montesano was a steamboat that was operated from 1882 to about 1903 in the coastal regions of Oregon and southwest Washington, including Astoria, Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, the Chehalis River, Yaquina Bay and Coos Bay. The Montesano of 1882, built in Astoria, should not be confused with another, larger sternwheeler, also named Montesano, built in Cosmopolis, Washington in 1889.
Truant was a steamboat that was operated in the Yaquina Bay region of Oregon from 1911 to 1919, transporting passengers and freight, and engaging in towing work. After 1919, Truant was transferred to the Columbia River.
Tressa May was a steamboat that was operated in the Yaquina Bay region of Oregon from 1883 to 1888.
Ocean Wave was a steamboat that was operated from 1891 to 1897 on the Columbia River, from 1897 to 1899 on Puget Sound and from 1899 to 1911 as a ferry on San Francisco Bay. Ocean Wave is perhaps best known for transporting summer vacationers from Portland, Oregon to seaside resorts near Ilwaco, Washington during its service on the Columbia River. This vessel is also known for being the first ferry placed in service by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
W.H. Harrison was a steam schooner that operated from 1890 to 1905 on the coast of Oregon, the lower Columbia River, and southwest Washington state. At that time the salmon cannery industry was one of the major businesses of the coast. W.H. Harrison, while also carrying passengers and transporting general freight and lumber, was one of a number of steamers supplying materials to canneries along the coast, and transporting cases of canned salmon from the canneries.
The Lincoln County Leader was a weekly American newspaper published in Toledo, Oregon from 1893 to 1987. The newspaper was originally published as a Democratic paper, but its party affiliation changed with the ownership. For many years the newspaper was the primary journal in Lincoln County.
Newport was an American steamboat built in 1908 at Yaquina City, Oregon. Now a ghost town, Yaquina City was then the terminus of the Corvallis & Eastern Railroad. For many years Newport transported excursionists in the summer months across a short water route between Yaquina City and the town of Newport, Oregon.
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.
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.
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), who married Thomas McFadden Patton in 1854. Edwin N. Cook was one of the principals of the People's Transportation Company.
Gazelle was a gasoline powered launch that operated on the Willamette and Columbia river from 1905 to 1911. For short periods of time Gazelle was operated on the Oregon Coast, on Yaquina Bay and also as an off-shore fishing vessel, in the Coos Bay area.
Mascot was a sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1890 which operated primarily on a route running from Portland, Oregon down the Willamette and Columbia rivers to points on the Lewis and Lake rivers. Points served included the town of Woodland, Washington, on the main branch of the Lewis, and La Center, Washington on the east fork.
N.S. Bentley, commonly referred to as simply Bentley, was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette rivers. Launched in East Portland in December 1886, Bentley ran until 1896, when it was rebuilt and renamed Albany. Bentley was owned by the Oregon Pacific Railway, and was used as part of a rail and marine link from Portland to San Francisco, running down the Willamette, then to Yaquina Bay, and then by ocean steamer south to California. In 1896, Bentley was rebuilt and renamed Albany.
References
Printed sources and reports
Newell, Gordon R., ed. (1966). H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: Superior Pub. Co. LCCN66025424.
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