The steamboat Aquilo operated on Lake Washington

Lake Washington

Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...

 and Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 in the first part of the 20th Century.

Construction

Aquilo was built by Captain John Anderson as part of his fleet of steamboats on Lake Washington, operating under the name of the Anderson Steamboat Company. “Aquilo” was the Roman name for their god of the northwind. (Captain Anderson named his vessels after classical gods, starting with Xanthus and Cyrene.) The vessel is reported to have been acquired by Anderson Steamboat Company at a cost of $20,000 in April 1909.

Operation

Publicly-owned ferries operating on Lake Washington ran Captain Anderson out of the steamboat business by about the time of the First World War, and he sold his interest in the Anderson Steamboat Company. In 1920 ferry services across Elliot

Elliot

Elliot is a personal name which can serve as either a surname or a given name. Although the given name was historically given to males, females named Elliott have seen an increase in recent years...

 Bay from Seattle to West Seattle were terminated by King County

King County, Washington

King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....

 which had been operating the ferry West Seattle

West Seattle (steam ferry)

West Seattle was a side-wheel driven steam-powered ferry built in 1907.-Design and construction:West Seattle was built in 1907 at Tacoma, Washington at the Heath yard for the West Seattle Land and Improvement Company...

 on the route.

As a replacement, Aquilo was brought to Puget Sound from Lake Washington, and apparently acquired then or earlier by King County. The county rebuilt Aquilo’s bow to allow her to use the West Seattle ferry dock. Aquilo could thereafter carry two automobiles on her foredeck (and thus technically may have become a ferry) but did not on the West Seattle run.

Sold for scrap

Captain Anderson operated Aquilo as the lessee of King County’s ferry fleet. In 1938, he returned Aquilo, and another former Anderson steamboat, Triton, to King County. The county sold Aquilo for scrap to the Seattle firm of Pacific Metal & Salvage Co. for $360.

The steamboat Aquilo should not be confused with the steam yacht Aquilo.

See also

• Steamboats of Lake Washington
  Steamboats of Lake Washington
  Lake Washington steamboats and ferries operated from about 1875 to 1951, transporting passengers and vehicles, and moving freight and towing barges and log rafts across Lake Washington, is a large lake immediately to the east of Seattle, Washington...
  
  
• Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
  Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
  The Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet was a large number 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...
  
  
• Triton
  Triton (steamboat)
  The steamboat Triton was a vessel that operated on Lake Washington in the first part of the 20th Century.-Construction :Triton was built in 1909 at the Anderson shipyard on the eastern shore of Lake Washington at Houghton. She was 78 feet long and rated at 49 tons...
  
  - near sistership of Aquilo

External links

• photograph of steamer Aquilo, with Triton (probably) in background on-line collection of the University of Washington
• photograph of launch of Aquilo on-line collection of the University of Washington