Pacific Coast Steamship Company
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Coast Steamship Company was an important early shipping company that operated steamships on the west coast of North America.
. The competition was settled in January 1875, with Goodall, Nelson and Perkins buying six side-wheel steamships from Pacific Mail, as well as certain wharves. Goodall Nelson and Perkins would form a new company to handle the traffic between San Diego and San Francisco, while Pacific Mail would control the routes from Central America and those north of San Francisco.
The new company, Goodall, Nelson & Perkins Steamship Company was formed in February 1875. Less than a year later Christopher Nelson retired and the remaining partners reorganized, on October 17, 1876, as the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, providing service to twenty ports in California.
The company later expanded to operate on routes to Portland, Oregon
, Seattle, and Alaska
, owning a number of steamships. The company also briefly conducted operations in Puget Sound
, running two steamers on the route from Seattle to Bellingham
.
Organization and operations
The company was first organized in 1867 under the name of Goodall, Nelson and Perkins. The company's chief rival was the Pacific Mail Steamship CompanyPacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
. The competition was settled in January 1875, with Goodall, Nelson and Perkins buying six side-wheel steamships from Pacific Mail, as well as certain wharves. Goodall Nelson and Perkins would form a new company to handle the traffic between San Diego and San Francisco, while Pacific Mail would control the routes from Central America and those north of San Francisco.
The new company, Goodall, Nelson & Perkins Steamship Company was formed in February 1875. Less than a year later Christopher Nelson retired and the remaining partners reorganized, on October 17, 1876, as the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, providing service to twenty ports in California.
The company later expanded to operate on routes to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Seattle, and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, owning a number of steamships. The company also briefly conducted operations in 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...
, running two steamers on the route from Seattle to Bellingham
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
.