Tressa May was built in East Portland, Oregon in 1883.[1] The boat was commissioned by Capt. Stephen B. Ives, and launched under the name Robert G. Ingersoll, as Capt. Ives was an admirer of that orator.[2] Ives encountered financial difficulties and had to sell the new boat.[2] The new owners renamed the vessel Tressa May.[2]
Dimensions and power
The boat was 57ft (17.37m) long with a beam of 14.5ft (4.42m) and depth of hold of 5.0ft (1.52m).[1]Tressa May measured out at 48.84 gross tons (a measurement of carrying capacity, not weight) and 39.60 net tons.[1] The official merchant vessel registry number was 145364.[3]
Tressa May was the first steamer on the west coast to be fitted with a Westinghouse engine.[2]
Operations
Tressa May leading Montesano in a race on Yaquina Bay, probably in June 1887.
In 1886 the home port for Tressa May was Portland, Oregon.[3] The boat however had been operating in Yaquina Bay since August 1885, if not earlier.[2][4]
On Saturday August 8, 1885, when Tressa May was under the command of Captain Dodge, the boat was making a landing at a dock when the vessel was backed into a scow, which broke the propeller.[4]Tressa May was replaced on the route by the Benton for the day.[4] The next Monday morning, August 10, 1885, Captain Dodge went to Portland for a replacement propeller.[4]
In 1886 Tressa May was purchased by James T. Chatterton (b.1851), who had earlier run the boat for a few months on a sea otter hunting expedition.[2] One source reports that Tressa May had been built for sea-going work as Robert G. Ingersoll, but had been converted to a riverine freight and passenger service by Chatterton when he bought the boat in 1886.[5]
In June 1887, D.H. Welch, owner of the sternwheeler Montesano, raced against Tressa May on Yaquina Bay from Yaquina City to Newport.[8] Both vessels arrived at almost the same time, with Montesano just a little ahead.[8]
In December 1887, Chatterton, captain of Tressa May, was fined $1,000 in U.S. District Court for carrying excessive passengers on the steamer.[9]
Disposition
John T. Chatterton operated Tressa May until 1888, when he built the steamer T.M. Richardson.[2][5]Tressa May was dismantled.[5] It was the practice to reuse machinery and other parts stripped from dismantled vessels in newer craft. The hull of Tressa May ended up being abandoned on the Yaquina River, and could be seen for many years at Dumpy Brown’s Landing across from Parker’s Mill, at Yaquina City.[5]
Wide West was a steamboat that served in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. She had a reputation as a luxury boat of her day.
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.
Olympian was a large side-wheel inland steamship that operated in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Olympian operated from early 1884 to late 1891 on the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and the Inside Passage of British Columbia and Alaska.
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.
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.
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.
Emma Hayward commonly called the Hayward, was a steamboat that served in the Pacific Northwest. This vessel was once one of the finest and fastest steamboats on the Columbia River and Puget Sound. As newer vessels came into service, Emma Hayward was relegated to secondary roles, and, by 1891, was converted into a Columbia river tow boat.
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.
Harvest Queen was the name of two stern-wheel steamboat built and operated in Oregon. Both vessels were well known in their day and had reputations for speed, power, and efficiency.The first Harvest Queen, widely considered one of the finest steamers of its day, was constructed at Celilo, Oregon, which was then separated from the other portions of the navigable Columbia River by two stretches of difficult to pass rapids.
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.
Alice was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the 1870s and 1880s. Alice was the largest vessel built above Willamette Falls and was considered in its day to be the "Queen of the River". This steamer was rebuilt after near-destruction in a fire at Oregon City, Oregon in May 1873. In 1876, it was withdrawn from the upper Willamette River and transferred to the Columbia River, where it was worked as a towboat moving ocean-going ships to and from Portland and Astoria, Oregon, near the mouth of the Columbia River.
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.
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.
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.
Governor Newell was a sternwheel-driven steamboat that operated from 1883 to 1902 in the Pacific Northwest.
Lucea Mason was a steamboat that operated from 1883 to 1891 on the Lewis, Columbia, and lower Willamette rivers. This vessel was occasionally referred to as the Lucia Mason. Lucea Mason was reported to have sunk a lot but nevertheless made a great deal of money for its owners.
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.
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