List of steamboats on the Columbia River

This list summarizes basic characteristics of steamboats placed in service on the Columbia River and its tributaries. The articles Steamboats of the Columbia River, Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes, British Columbia, Steamboats of Columbia River, Wenatchee Reach, Steamboats of the Cowlitz River, and Steamboats of the Willamette River expand on the topic.

Early boats

Table 1: Early Steamboats on Lower Columbia River

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Owners	Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Disposition
Beaver	side	1834	London		Hudson's Bay Company	187	101'				Wrecked 1888 in B.C.
Columbia	side	1850	Astoria	Goodwin & Hewitt	Frost, Adair, Leonards & Green	75	90'	16'	4'	8"x24"	Dismantled 1862, engines to Fashion
Lot Whitcomb	side	1850	Milwaukie, Oregon		White, Jennings & Whitcomb	600	160'	24'	5.8'	single 17"x84"	Sold to California Steam Navigation Co. 1854, renamed Annie Abernathy
Multnomah	side	1851	Canemah, Oregon		Bissell, Maxwell & Gray		108'	18'	6'	10"x48"	Dismantled 1864
Eagle	propeller launch (iron hull)	1851	Philadelphia			20					Dismantled 1871
Blackhawk	propeller launch (iron hull)	1851					40'				Dismantled 1852
Hoosier	side	1851	Portland	John T. Thomas	A.S. Murray and others	5	60'				Wrecked 1853[1] or dismantled 1860 at Linn City[2]
Major Redding		1851									Dismantled 1852
Wallamet	side	1853	Canemah, Oregon	John T. Thomas	J. McCrosky and others	272	150'	23'	5'	14"x60"	Transferred to California, 1854.
Belle (of Oregon City)	side (iron hull) [3]	1853	Oregon City[4]			54	96'	16'	4'		Dismantled at Portland, 1869
Senorita	side	1855	Oregon City[4]				132'[5]	23'	5'	14"x72"	Dismantled 1859. Engines to Hassaloe[2]
Jennie Clark	stern	1855	Milwaukie		John C. Ainsworth and Jacob Kamm	50	115'	18.5'	4'	12"x48"	Dismantled 1863, engines to Forty-Nine.

Table 2: Early boats on the middle Columbia

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders/Owners	Hull	Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Disposition
James P. Flint	side	1851	Cascades, Washington	Bradford & Van Bergen	wood		80'				To lower Columbia 1852, hit rock and sank 1853,[6] raised, rebuilt and renamed Fashion
Allan	propeller	1852			iron	10					unknown
Mary	side	1854	Cascades, Washington	Bradford & Co.	wood		80'	16'	5'	14"x30"	Dismantled 1862[7] at The Dalles

Table 3: Early boats on the upper Columbia

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders/Owners	Hull	Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Disposition
Venture	stern	1851	Cascades, Washington	R.R. Thompson & E.F. Coe	wood	91	110'	22'	4.6"	14"x48"	Swept over Cascades upon launch and sank, raised, renamed Umatilla, and served on lower Columbia until 1858, then transferred to Fraser River under command of John C. Ainsworth, then to Sacramento River.
Colonel Wright	stern	1858	Deschutes, Oregon	R.R. Thompson & E.F. Coe	wood		110'	21'	5'	12.5"x50"	dismantled 1865 at Celilo
Tenino	stern	1861	Deschutes, Oregon	R.R. Thompson for O.S.N.	wood	329	135'	25'	5.5'	17"x52"	Rebuilt 1869 and rebuilt again 1876 and renamed New Tenino, U.S. registry #130067.

Early Oregon Steam Navigation Company boats

Table 4: Early O.S.N. Monopoly boats

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Initial Owners	Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Registry	Routes	Disposition
Mountain Buck	side	1857	Portland		Ruckle & Olmstead		133'	25.4'	5.6'	12"x48"		Lower Columbia	Dismantled 1864
Hassaloe	stern	1858	Cascades, Washington		Bradford Bros.	187	135'	19'	5'	14"x40"		Middle Columbia	Dismantled 1865 at The Dalles.
Carrie Ladd	stern	1858	Oregon City	John T. Thomas	Jacob Kamm & John C. Ainsworth	187	126'	24.4'	4.6'	16"x66"		Lower Columbia	Dismantled 1864, engines to Nez Perce Chief
Julia(Barclay)	stern	1858	Port Blakely		Oregon Steam Navigation Co.	325	147'[8]	25'	5.7'	16"x72"	US 13621	Lower Columbia	Dismantled 1872 at Portland
Wasco	stern	1858	Port Blakeley		Oregon Steam Navigation Co.

People's Navigation Company

Table 5: Boats of the People's Transportation Company launched in competition with the O.S.N. Monopoly

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Initial Owners	Gross Tons	Net Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Registry	Routes	Disposition
E.D. Baker	stern	1862	Vancouver, WA		People's Trans. Co.			116'					Lower Columbia	abandoned 1863
Iris	side	1863	The Dalles		People's Trans. Co.	402		162'					Middle Columbia	Dismantled 1870
Kiyus	stern	1863	Celilo		People's Trans. Co.			140'					Upper Columbia	Wrecked 1866

Oregon Steam Navigation Company boats 1860-1879

Table 6: Boats placed in service by O.S.N. 1860-1879

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Initial Owners	Gross Tons	Net Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Registry	Routes	Disposition
Nez Pierce Chief	stern	1863	Celilo		O.S.N.	327		126'					upper Columbia	Dismantled 1874
Web Foot	stern	1863	Celilo		O.S.N.	504		150'					upper Columbia	Dismantled 1871
Owyhee	stern	1864	Celilo		O.S.N.	313		115'					upper Columbia	Dismantled 1876
Yakima	stern	1864	Celilo		O.S.N.	455		147'					upper Columbia	Wrecked 1876
Oneonta	side	1863	Celilo		O.S.N.	497		150'					middle Columbia	Dismantled 1877
Mountain Queen	stern	1877	The Dalles		O.S.N.	719		176'					middle Columbia	Rebuilt 1889, renamed Sehome
Annie Faxon (I)	stern	1877	Celilo		O.S.N.	709		165'					upper Columbia	Rebuilt 1887
Spokane	stern	1877	Celilo		O.S.N.	673		150'					upper Columbia	Rebuilt 1876
Wide West	stern	1877	Portland		O.S.N.	1200		218'					lower Columbia	Dismantled 1887, upper works to T.J. Potter
Harvest Queen (I)	stern	1878	Celilo		O.S.N.	846		200'					upper Columbia	Dismantled 1899
John Gates	stern	1878	Celilo		O.S.N.	673		150'					upper Columbia	Dismantled 1894
R.R. Thompson	stern	1878	The Dalles		O.S.N.	673		150'					middle Columbia	Dismantled 1904

Boats operating above Wenatchee

Steamboats operating on Columbia River above Wenatchee

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Owners	Hull	Gross Tons	Net Tons	Length	Beam	Draft	Engines	Registry	Disposition
Oro[9]	stern	1896	Wenatchee		Columbia & Okanogan Steam Navigation Co.	wood			84'
Camano	stern	1898	Wenatchee		Columbia & Okanogan Steam Navigation Co.	wood	59		90'					Wrecked 1904
Chelan	stern	1902	Wenatchee		Columbia & Okanogan Steam Navigation Co.	wood	244		125'					Burned 7/8/1915
Gerome	stern	1902	Wenatchee			wood	109		81'					Wrecked 1905
Alexander Griggs	stern	1903	Wenatchee		Columbia & Okanogan Steam Navigation Co.	wood			111'					Wrecked 1905
Columbia	stern	1905	Wenatchee		Columbia & Okanogan Steam Navigation Co.	wood	341		131'					Burned 7/8/1915
Douglas	stern	1914	Wenatchee				12		141'			gasoline		Abandoned 1924

Boats associated with Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company

Riverboats and other vessels owned by or associated with Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Company^[10]

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Owners	Gross Tons	Net Tons	Length	Beam	Depth of Hull[11]	Engines	Registry	Disposition
Gen. Canby[12]	propeller	1875	South Bend	Lewis A. Loomis		89		85'	20'	8.5'		US 85414
Gen. Garfield	propeller	1881	Rainier			21		56'	14'	4.7'		US 85677
Gen. Miles	propeller	1882	Astoria			137		100'	22'	10.5'		US 85730
Alaskan[13]	sidewheeler (iron hull)	1883	Chester, PA		O.R.& N.	1,718	1,259	276'[14]	40 (73' over sidewheels)	13.4	walking beam 73"x144"	US 106232	Wrecked May 1889 at Cape Blanco en route to California.
T.J. Potter (I)	sidewheeler	1888	Portland		O.R.& N.	659	590	235'	35.1'	10.6'	32"x96"	US 145489	Rebuilt 1901
Ocean Wave	sidewheeler	1891	Portland	Jacob Kamm	Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Co.	724	507	180'	29'	9'	18"x84"	US 155207	Transferred to California 1899, eventually became floating restaurant in 1920's
Nahcotta[15]	propeller	1898	Portland			112		96'	21'	6.5'		US 139793
T.J. Potter (II)	sidewheeler	1901	Portland		O.R.& N.	826	676	234'	35.6'	11.4'	32"x96"	US 145489	Abandoned 1921[16]

Notes

1. Mills, at 195
2. Affleck, at 15
3. Mills, at 25, providing details. Affleck, at 8, states hull of wood.
4. Mills, at 25. Afflect, at 8, states Linn City
5. Affleck at 25, gives length as 145'
6. Affleck at 16 reports this boat hit a rock at Multnomah Falls in September 1851
7. Affleck at 19 reports 1858
8. Newell gives slightly longer length and additional construction and mechanical details for the Julia Barclay. Newell, Gordon R., Ships of the Inland Sea, at page 18, Binford & Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960)
9. McCurdy, at 4
10. Except as otherwise noted, details for all vessels are from re from Affleck, Edward, A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska, page 26, Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, B.C. 2000 ISBN 0-920034-08-X
11. Affleck, at 1, points out that depth of hull does not equal draft of the vessel.
12. Details to extent available are from Feagans, at 137 and Ruby & Brown, at 85
13. Significant details from Mills, at 189 and Affleck at 7
14. Affleck at 7 gives two slightly different sets of dimensions, second set is 280' length, 45' beam, and 12.5' depth of hull
15. Details to extent available are from Ruby & Brown, at 17, 85
16. Other sources say 1925

See also

• Cascades Rapids
• Columbia River Gorge
• Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company
• Beaver (steamship)
• Moyie (sternwheeler)
• Oregon Steam Navigation Company
• Shipwrecks of the Inland Columbia River
• Shaver Transportation Company
• Steamboat
• Steamboats of the Oregon Coast
• Tourist sternwheelers of Oregon (replica steamboats in the 21st century)
• W.T. Preston (Corps of Engineers snagboat and museum)

References

Pacific Northwest Steamboats

• Corning, Howard McKinley, Willamette Landings, (2nd Ed.) Oregon Historical Society, Portland, OR 1977 ISBN 0-87595-042-6
• Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN 0-9615811-0-7
• Mills, Randall V., Sternwheelers up Columbia, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE 1947 ISBN 0-8032-5874-7
• Robertson, Donald B., Encyclopedia of Western Railroading - Volume III - Oregon and Washington, at 222, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1995 ISBN 0-87004-366-8
• Newell, Gordon R., Ships of the Inland Sea, Binford & Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960)
• Newell, Gordon, and Williamson, Joe, Pacific Steamboats, Bonanza Books, New York, NY (1963)
• Ruby, Robert H. and Brown, John A., Ferry Boats on the Columbia River, Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA 1974
• Timmen, Fritz, Blow for the Landing, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1972 ISBN 0-87004-221-1

Steamboats in general

• Hunter, Louis C., Steamboats on the Western Rivers, Dover Publications, NY 1947 ISBN 0-486-27863-8

External links

• Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Wasco County Historical Museum
• University of Oregon Digital Collection
• SS Moyie National Historic Site
• Anacortes History Museum (W.T. Preston snagboat)