Steamboats of the Oregon Coast - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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

Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...

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

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

or 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...

. There were many of them, however, and they came to be known as the "mosquito fleet."

Rogue River

The Rogue River

Rogue River (Oregon)

The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...

meets the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

at Gold Beach

Gold Beach, Oregon

Gold Beach is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 1,897 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, and flows all the way from the Cascade Mountains

Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...

. R. D. Hume was a pioneering businessman at Wedderburn

Wedderburn, Oregon

Wedderburn is an unincorporated coastal community in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It is located across the mouth of Rogue River from Gold Beach, on U.S. Route 101. The Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge connects Wedderburn with Gold Beach....

and Gold Beach, then known as Ellensburg. By 1881, he had established a fish cannery and built a steam schooner, Mary D. Hume
Mary D. Hume (steamer)
The Mary D. Hume was a steamer built at Gold Beach, Oregon in 1881, by R. D. Hume, a pioneer and early businessman in that area. Gold Beach was then called Ellensburg.-History:...

, to support the cannery operation. Hume was still conducting steamboat operations on the Rogue River in 1901, and in that year, Capt. E.D. Burns built the sternwheel steamboat Rogue River in Portland, and brought her down the coast to compete against Hume's operation. Mary D. Hume passed through several owners and was still in operation as late as 1939, when she was the oldest commercial vessel in service in the Pacific Northwest.

In November 1902, Burns succeeded in reaching deep inland on the Rogue to Agness

Agness, Oregon

Agness is an unincorporated community in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It is located near the confluence of two Wild and Scenic rivers—the Lower Rogue and the Illinois. Agness post office was established October 16, 1897. It was named after Agnes, the daughter of the first postmaster, and...

, however, in returning to Gold Beach, on November 16, 1902 the boat struck a rock at Boiler Rapids, where, at least in 1966, her boiler was reported to be still visible. This was the only known effort to take a conventional vessel so far up the Rogue River.

In 1903 the gasoline-powered Success was built at Gold Beach for the Rogue River service. R.D. Hume continued his interest in shipping out of the Rogue River, commissioning the construction in 1908 of two small gasoline powered schooners, Enterprise (22 tons) and Osprey (43 tons) from Ellingson in Coquille. Hume died by 1912, as his estate is reported to have sold Enterprise and Osprey to someone from Portland.

Coquille River

The Coquille River

Coquille River

The Coquille River is a stream long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed is located between that of the Coos River to the north and the Rogue River to the south.-Geography:The river,...

runs inland from Bandon

Bandon, Oregon

- Economy :Like many communities on the Oregon coast, Bandon had significant fishing and timber industries, which were greatly diminished by the 1980s, though some remnants still exist. Bandon's current economy revolves around wood products, fishing, tourism, and agriculture...

. Before the era of railroads and later automobiles, the Coquille River was the major transportation route from Bandon to Coquille and Myrtle Point in southern Coos County

Coos County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siskiyou National Forest *Siuslaw National Forest - Incorporated cities:- Unincorporated communities and CDPs:-See also:...

Coos Bay

Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The estuary is situated south of the Salmon River. The city of Coos Bay, once named Marshfield, was...

is a large and mostly shallow harbor on Oregon's southwest coast, to the north of the Coquille River

Coquille River

valley. It is the major harbor on the west coast of the United States between San Francisco and the mouth of the Columbia River.

Two steamboat captains from the Columbia River

Columbia River

began steamboat operations on Coos Bay in 1873. Inland riverboats were used to navigate the bay and the several rivers flow that flow into it. A mule-hauled portage was built between a shallow southern arm of Coos Bay and the Beaver Slough, a shallow north-extending branch of the Coquille River, in 1869; it was replaced in 1874 with a steam portage railroad. This connection established a convenient link between the steamboat operations of Coos Bay and those on the Coquille.

Numerous steamboats were built over the ensuing decades. In 1912, a number of steamboats were wrecked, by collision, fire and grounding on the sandbar at the mouth of the bay.

Umpqua River

The Umpqua River

Umpqua River

The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...

runs from Reedsport

Reedsport, Oregon

Reedsport is a city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,154.- History :Reedsport was established on the estuary of the Umpqua River on January 7, 1852. It was named for a local settler, Alfred W. Reed, who founded the city in 1912...

up through Douglas County

Douglas County, Oregon

-National protected areas:* Crater Lake National Park * Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest * Siuslaw National Forest * Umpqua National Forest * Willamette National Forest -Adjacent counties:* Lane County, Oregon -...

. Gardiner

Gardiner, Oregon

Gardiner is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, across the Umpqua River from Reedsport. It is located on U.S. Route 101....

is a town near the mouth of the Umpqua where several river steamers were built. One of the Umpqua River's several branches eventually reaches Roseburg

Roseburg, Oregon

Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, although the head of navigation was Scottsburg. Captain Godfrey Seymour began steamboat operations on the Umpqua River with Raftsman, later adding Washington, Swan, and Enterprise.

Swan was unique as the only steamboat to ever ascend as far as Roseburg on the Umpqua. This was in 1870, when the merchants of Gardiner were anxious to demonstrate the navigability of this river. Roseburg is 85 miles above the mouth of the river, and it took Swan 11 days to get there. This was sufficient to persuade Congress to allocate $70,000 for channel clearance of the Umpqua, even though no other steamboat ever again ran up to Roseburg.

In 1906, the propeller steamer Juno (32 tons) was built at Marshfield and placed on the Umpqua River service by the Umpqua River Steam Navigation Company.

Scottsburg landing on Umpqua River, circa 1900, showing passengers and a number of small vessels

Siuslaw Bay and River

Siuslaw Bay is yet another large shallow bay on the Oregon coast, with its entrance about 24 miles north of the mouth of the Umpqua River. The Siuslaw River

Siuslaw River

The Siuslaw River is a river, approximately 110 mi long, along the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of approximately in the Central Oregon Coast Range southwest of the Willamette Valley and north of the watershed of the Umpqua River.It rises in the mountains...

widens into the bay, which meets the ocean near the town of Florence

Florence, Oregon

Florence is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,466.-History:The Florence area was originally inhabited by the Siuslaw tribe of Native Americans. Some state that the city was named for state senator A. B...

. In 1890 or thereabouts, the Moonlight was placed in service on Siuslaw Bay and its various back channels.

waterfront of Florence, Oregon, on Suislaw Bay, 1927

Yaquina Bay

Yaquina Bay is a small bay partially within Newport, Oregon, United States, located where the Yaquina River flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is traversed by the Yaquina Bay Bridge. The bay's area is about 8 km² .-See also:...

, like Coos Bay, is another shallow coastal bay on the Oregon Coast. The principal town on Yaquina Bay is Newport

Newport, Oregon

Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868...

. Once the Oregon Pacific Railroad reached Toledo

Toledo, Oregon

Toledo is a city located on the Yaquina River and along U.S. Route 20 in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 3,472...

, on the east end of Yaquina Bay, tourists started coming to the bay from the Willamette Valley. The roads were bad or nonexistent at the time, so the only way to the seaside hotels at Newport was to cross the Yaquina Bay by steamer. Propeller steamboats did most of this service, however in 1872, the sidewheeler Oneatta was launched at Pioneer, ran on the bay for a while and then was transferred to the Columbia River, and in 1882, to Humboldt Bay. Later, Rebecca C. and Cleveland also ran on Yaquina Bay.

Siletz River

The Siletz River

Siletz River

The Siletz River flows about to the Pacific Ocean through coastal mountains in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of its north and south forks near Valsetz in Polk County, it winds through the Central Oregon Coast Range. The river, draining a watershed of , empties into Siletz Bay,...

runs into the Pacific about 30 miles north of Yaquina Bay, near the town of Taft now part of Lincoln City

Lincoln City, Oregon

Lincoln City is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is named after the county. The population was 7,930 at the 2010 census.- History :...

. The first salmon cannery was established on the Siletz River in 1896 by Daniel Kern, a Portlander. This was Kerns Bros. Packing Co., on the north side of the river. Later that same year the post office of Kernville

Kernville, Oregon

Kernville is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is located near the intersection of U.S. Route 101 and Oregon Route 229, where the Siletz River enters Siletz Bay. There are two communities, known as "old" and "new" Kernville, in close proximity. Old Kernville...

was established in the same location, where a small town later developed. Kern brought in the small steamer Tonquin, 64' long, built at Portland, to act as a cannery tender and supply vessel. Kern later sold his cannery to Elmore Packing, of Astoria, and went into the marine construction business.

Much later, the Siletz Navigation Company operated on the Siletz, at least in the early 1920s. In 1923, Siletz (93 tons), described as a "strongly built diesel freighter" was launched at Kernville, Oregon, to serve local routes from the Siletz river entrance. This boat was probably more of an ocean-going vessel than the typical mosquito fleet craft, as she was sold to a Hawaii firm and voyaged there herself in 19 days without mishap.

Tillamook Bay

Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...

was a large very shallow bay on the northern part of the Oregon Coast. In 1911, the yacht Bay Ocean was built in Portland to provide service from Portland to Tillamook Bay for a beach resort. Bay Ocean was designed by R.A. Ballin for the T.B. Potter real estate company, which was developing the (eventually ill-fated) resort at Bay Ocean Spit on Tillamook Bay. Bay Ocean was the largest motor passenger vessel built to that date on the Pacific Coast. She was long (150') and narrow (18' beam), with a clipper bow and bowsprit. She had three gasoline engines connected to a single shaft. She could accommodate 50 passengers on the Portland-Tillamook route but had difficulty on the run and only served in the summer. She was called up by the navy to function as a patrol boat in the First World War. After the war, Bay Ocean was sold to Crowley Launch and Tug Co., of San Francisco.

Last operations

Mosquito fleet operations in the Coos Bay area and Coquille River valley continued up into the 1930s, due to the lack of good roads and other more modern transportation in these areas. As possibly the extreme example, the small (14 tons) gasoline-propeller Welcome, built 1919, was on the run up the Coos River

Coos River

The Coos River flows for about into Coos Bay along the Pacific coast of southwest Oregon in the United States. Formed by the confluence of its major tributaries, the South Fork Coos River and the Millicoma River, it drains an important timber-producing region of the Southern Oregon Coast Range...

from Marshfield

Coos Bay, Oregon

Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...

to Allegany

Allegany, Oregon

Allegany is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States east of Coos Bay. According to Oregon Geographic Names, a post office was established there in 1893, and it is unknown why this spelling was chosen rather than the more common form, Allegheny, used for many features in...

until 1948.

Steamboat graveyards

When steamboat service ended on the Coquille, at least three steamers, Myrtle, Telegraph, and Dora were all beached on the river near Bandon. See external link section below for image files showing the steamboat graveyard.

Astoundingly, the Mary D. Hume, built in 1881, is still largely intact, lying on the shore at Gold Beach, Oregon. The wreck itself is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The steam ferry Roosevelt, which used to run on Coos Bay, was photographed abandoned near Marshfield in 1941.

wreck of Roosevelt, steam ferry, near Marshfield

List of vessels

A large number of boats of all types were built on these waters, powered by various means, including steam, gasoline, and diesel engines. This index will attempt to track only vessels over 30 tons built before 1920, with exceptions where a vessel appears to be of more interest, due to an available on-line image or otherwise.

Inland steamboats on Oregon coastal waterways
Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Owners	Gross Tons	Length	Disposition
Swan	sternwheeler	1870	Gardiner Gardiner, Oregon Gardiner is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, across the Umpqua River from Reedsport. It is located on U.S. Route 101....		Godfrey Seymour	131		unknown, 1880
Enterprise	sternwheeler	1870	Gardiner		Godfrey Seymour	247		wrecked 1873
Oneatta	sidewheeler	1872	Pioneer			118	82'	transferred to Columbia River, circa 1874, then to California 1882
Messenger	sternwheeler	1872	Empire City	Capt. M. Lane		136	91'	burned 1876 at Coos Bay, total loss
Little Annie	sternwheeler	1877	Coquille Coquille, Oregon Coquille is a city that is the county seat of Coos County, Oregon, United States. The population was 4,184 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 4,215 residents. The primary economic base is the timber industry...	William E. Rackliffe		86	70'	hit snag and sank near Bandon, 1890
Mud Hen	sternwheeler	1878	Coquille River Coquille River The Coquille River is a stream long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed is located between that of the Coos River to the north and the Rogue River to the south.-Geography:The river,...				32'	unknown, 1892
Mary D. Hume	propeller cannery tender	1881	Ellensburg Gold Beach, Oregon Gold Beach is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 1,897 at the 2000 census.-History:...	R.D. Hume	R.D. Hume	158	98.1'	sold in late 1880s to Alaska whaling interests, later a cannery tender in Alaskan waters, reengined several times, and in service as late as 1939. Currently lying on shore at Gold Beach Gold Beach, Oregon Gold Beach is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 1,897 at the 2000 census.-History:...
Dispatch (I)	sternwheeler	1890	Bandon Bandon, Oregon - Economy :Like many communities on the Oregon coast, Bandon had significant fishing and timber industries, which were greatly diminished by the 1980s, though some remnants still exist. Bandon's current economy revolves around wood products, fishing, tourism, and agriculture...			24	52'	unknown, probably abandoned 1904
Alert	sternwheeler	1890	Bandon	Hans Reed		96	69'	Transferred to San Francisco in 1919, foundered Sept. 26, 1919, near Rio Vista Rio Vista, California Rio Vista is a city located in the eastern end of Solano County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento River Delta region. The population was 7,360 at the 2010 census.... .
Eva	sternwheeler	1894	Portland 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...		Umpqua Steam Nav. Co.; W.F. Jewett	130	90'	unknown, 1918 (probably abandoned)
Favorite	propeller	1900	Coquille Coquille, Oregon Coquille is a city that is the county seat of Coos County, Oregon, United States. The population was 4,184 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 4,215 residents. The primary economic base is the timber industry...	Arthur Ellingson		13	72'	unknown, 1917
Pastime	sternwheeler (gasoline)	1900	Coquille			11	45'	unknown, 1901
Rogue River	sternwheeler	1901	Portland		E.B. Burns	66	80'	wrecked, Boiler Rapids on Rogue River, 16 November 1902
Welcome	sternwheeler	1900	Coquille	S.H. Adams		30	56'	wrecked, 1907
Echo	sternwheeler	1901	Coquille	Ellingson		76	66'	unknown, probably abandoned 1911
Dispatch (II)	sternwheeler	1903	Parkersburg	Charles Tweed		250	111'	rebuilt 1922 as towboat John Wildi
Liberty	sternwheeler	1903	Bandon Bandon, Oregon - Economy :Like many communities on the Oregon coast, Bandon had significant fishing and timber industries, which were greatly diminished by the 1980s, though some remnants still exist. Bandon's current economy revolves around wood products, fishing, tourism, and agriculture...	Herman Bros.		174	91'	unknown, 1918
Success	sternwheeler (gasoline)	1903	Gold Beach Gold Beach, Oregon Gold Beach is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 1,897 at the 2000 census.-History:...			14		unknown
Juno	propeller	1906	Marshfield Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...			32	60.8'	unknown
Millicoma	sternwheeler	1909	Marshfield	Frank Lowe		14	55'	later converted to gasoline engine, rebuilt 1917 as propeller, ult. dispo unk.
Newport	propeller	1908	Yaquina Yaquina, Oregon Yaquina , at one time a thriving port called Yaquina City, is an unincorporated area in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is located near the mouth of the Yaquina River, on the east side of Yaquina Bay, and is about a 3-mile drive from Newport...			81	72'	converted to gasoline power, ran until mid-1920s, ultimate disposition unknown
Charm	propeller (gasoline)	1908	Prosper Prosper, Oregon Prosper is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States. It is located about three miles northwest of Bandon next to the Coquille River. There is no longer a town at the site....	Herman Bros.			75'	Badly damaged by collision with Telegraph 1914, and forced to beach near Bandon. Repaired and ran on Coquille River until sale to Shaver Transportation Co. Shaver Transportation Company The Shaver Transportation Company is an inland water freight transportation company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded in 1880, and played a major role in the development of freight transport in the Portland area and along the Columbia., Harry L... in 1928.
Pedler	sternwheeler	1908	Marshfield	S. Gilroy		407	124'	unknown, 1910
Coquille	propeller	1908	Coquille	Frank Lowe		407	124'	transferred to Columbia R., date and ultimate dispo. unk.
Myrtle (I)	sternwheeler	1909	Myrtle Point Myrtle Point, Oregon -2000 Census data:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,451 people, 988 households, and 674 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,529.5 people per square mile . There were 1,110 housing units at an average density of 692.7 per square mile...	Nels Nelson	Myrtle Point Trans. Co.	36	57'	rebuilt as freighter 1922.
Dora	sternwheeler	1910	Randolph	Herman Bros.	W.R. Panter	47	64'	abandoned 1927
Bayocean	propeller yacht (gasoline)	1911	Portland	Joseph Supple	T.B. Potter Realty Co.	130	150'	taken into naval service during First World War on April 27, 1918, decommissioned March 14, 1919, sold to L. Parker, of Oakland, CA
Fay No. 4	sternwheeler (gasoline)	1912	North Bend North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, in the United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census. North Bend is surrounded on three sides by Coos Bay, an S-shaped water inlet and estuary where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean, and borders the city of Coos Bay,...			179	136'	Transferred to California, 1913
Lifeline	propeller (gasoline)	1912	Marshfield			179	136'	Foundered off coast June 5, 1923, just south of Neahkanie Mountain, while en route from Coos Bay to Kelso Kelso, Washington Kelso is a city in southwest Washington State, United States, and is the county seat of Cowlitz County. At the 2010 census, the population was 11,925. Kelso is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 102,410. Kelso shares its long western border... . Crew survived, hull washed ashore and buried by sand.
Rainbow	sternwheeler	1912	Marshfield	Frank Lowe	Coos River Trans. Co.	75	64'	Abandoned 1923
Telegraph	sternwheeler	1914	Prosper	Carl Herman	Myrtle Point Trans. Co.	96	103'	rebuilt and lengthened to 115' in about 1916, abandoned by 1940
Relief	sternwheeler	1916	Coquille	Ellingson		44	64'	unknown, 1927
Myrtle (II)	sternwheeler	1922	Prosper			36	60'	abandoned by 1940
John Wildi (ex-Dispatch)	sternwheeler	1922	Parkersburg			173	112'	abandoned 1927
Siletz	diesel freighter	1923	Kernville Kernville, Oregon Kernville is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is located near the intersection of U.S. Route 101 and Oregon Route 229, where the Siletz River enters Siletz Bay. There are two communities, known as "old" and "new" Kernville, in close proximity. Old Kernville...			93	64'	transferred to Hawaii, renamed Moi, and operated there by Young Bros.

Rogue River

Coquille River

Coos Bay

Umpqua River

Siuslaw Bay and River

Yaquina Bay

Siletz River

Tillamook Bay

Last operations

Steamboat graveyards

List of vessels

See also

General references

Nautical Charts

Coos Art Museum

Historic images of Oregon Coast steamboats from Salem Public Library