Columbia (1850 sidewheeler)

1850 sidewheeler steamboat

Advertisement for steamer Columbia, July 17, 1851

Name| Columbia (sidewheel steamboat)
Owner| Frost, Adair, Leonards and Green[1]
Route| lower Columbia River and lower Willamette River
Builder| Thomas Goodwin and George Hewitt[1]
Launched| 1850, at Astoria, Oregon[1]
Type| Shallow draft inland passenger/freight, wooden construction
Length| 90 ft (27.4 m)[1]
Beam| 16 ft (4.9 m)[1]
Depth| About 4 ft (1.2 m) depth of hold[2]
Installed power| Steam engines, 8 in (20 cm) bore by 24 in (61 cm) stroke[1]
Propulsion| Sidewheels
Speed| 4 mi (6.4 km) per hour or a little more[3]
Notes| Dismantled 1852, engines to sidewheeler Fashion[3]

The Columbia was a steamboat built at Astoria, Oregon in 1850. It was the first steamboat built in the Oregon Territory, and the first to establish regular service on the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers. This vessel should not be confused with the many other craft with the same or a similar name, including in particular at least four other vessels named Columbia which ran on the Columbia river or its tributaries.

## Owners

[edit]

Columbia was built at upper Astoria, Oregon. One source states that the vessel was built by Gen. James Adair (1808–1888) and James Frost.[4] John Adair was the first collector of customs for the Oregon Territory.[5] Adair was a lawyer with political connections, and later was friend and advisor to Joseph Lane, one of Oregon's first senators.[6] Frost, originally from Missouri, had come out to Oregon with a pioneer rifle regiment.[7] He had been a sutler in this regiment, and his brother was quartermaster. When the American Civil War began, he returned to Missouri, where he served with the rebel militia.[7] He lived in St. Louis, Missouri after the war.[7] Another source states that Columbia was built by Thomas Goodwin and George Hewitt for Adair, Frost, and two others, whose names are given as Leonards and Green.[1]

## Design

[edit]

Columbia has been described as odd-shaped and clumsy-looking, and double-ended like a ferry.[7] The vessel was built of wood and powered by sidewheels, which were driven by engines which originally came from France. James Frost had journeyed to San Francisco to purchase the engines, which were shipped up to Astoria.[4][7] Another source states that the chief engineer, Thomas V. Smith, went to San Francisco to purchase engines.[2]

## First trip upriver

[edit]

> It is to be regretted that there was no photo artist in those days to make a truthful picture of this poor sidewheeler as she struggled and panted against tide and current, doing her four or five miles an hour under favorable circumstances ... .

—Dan O'Neill, a captain of Columbia[8]

Columbia began its first trip up the Columbia on the morning of July 3, 1850, with James Frost acting as captain.[3] No one on board knew where the channel was, and the steamer's progress was slow. To act as pilots, Frost hired two young people of the Coast Salish who had been fishing on the river. By the end of the first day, they had travelled fifty miles, and Frost, not wanting to risk the vessel in the dark, tied up to the riverbank.[3] The next morning, July 4, 1850, the steamer cast off again and proceeded upstream, arriving at Portland, Oregon (then only a small settlement) at 3:00 p.m.[4] After staying at Portland for about two hours, Columbia then proceeded on to Oregon City, arriving there at 8:00 p.m., where there was a celebration of the vessel's arrival.[2][4] It had taken 26 hours to make the trip.[7]

## Later operations

[edit]

> Everything in connection with her was of the miniature order excepting the rates of fare. For the luxury of a trip from Astoria to Portland the modest sum of $25 was asked and cheerfully paid, a considerable difference to the present 'cut rates' of 25 cents, by boat or railroad cars. During the time I was thus employed quite a number who subsequently became millionaires were passengers, among them being H. W. Corbett, John Green, Henry Leonard and others; and also, at one time, a party of school marms who had come out from the East to teach school in Oregon.

—Dan O'Neill[8]

After a second trip to Oregon City, Columbia began to run regular trips between Oregon City and Astoria, connecting with the ocean steamer coming up from San Francisco that was owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.[3] Columbia was "no floating palace".[3] Fares were $25 per person either way, with passengers to furnish their own food, which would be eaten from baskets or on blankets spread out on the deck or a table in the small cabin. Space was allocated for sleeping at night on the deck, for which there was no additional charge.[3] Often there was standing room only on the boat.[2]

Once gold strikes began in the west, fares could be paid in gold. One early passenger, John McCracken, reported that he once paid two ounces of gold dust for travel on the Columbia from Astoria to Portland. He had to sleep on the upper deck, the vessel was crowded, and the trip took two days.[7] The boat did not run at night. Columbia completed with the keelboats, bateaux and sailing vessels that had provided the transport on the river, by towing barges, transporting immigrants who had reached the Cascade Rapids and general steamboat work.[3]

For six months Columbia was the only steamboat on the river, until the Lot Whitcomb was launched on December 25, 1850. Lot Whitcomb was a vessel far superior to Columbia. The owners of Columbia dropped their fare to $15.[3] According to one source, Mills, the backers of Lot Whitcomb refused to meet this, believing, correctly, that people would pay more to ride their superior steamer.[3] Another source, Corning, states that Lot Whitcomb forced the Columbia's fare down to $12.[4]

## Disposition

[edit]

By December 1853, Fashion was running with Columbia's engines, as this advertisement shows.

The sources disagree as to the disposition of the vessel. Corning states that by June 1856, Columbia had made over 100 runs to Portland, and earned over $500,000 for her owners.[4] Mills gives 1852 as the year in which the vessel was dismantled, as does the Lewis and Dryden Marine History.[2][3] Sources agree, however, that the engines of Columbia were installed in the sidewheeler Fashion, which was built in 1853.[2][3] After the engines had been removed, Columbia's hull was swept downstream and lost during a spring freshlet.[2]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Affleck, Century of Paddlewheelers, at 11 and 13.
2. ^ a b c d e f g Wright, ed., Lewis and Dryden Marine History, at 28-29, and 38.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mills, Sternwheelers up Columbia, at 16-18, 19, 24, 28, 121, 170, 192.
4. ^ a b c d e f Corning, Willamette Landings, at 23-24.
5. ^ Horner, Oregon: Her History, at 148.
6. ^ Hines, Illustrated History of the State of Oregon, at 657.
7. ^ a b c d e f g Bancroft, History of Oregon 1848-1888, at 255-56
8. ^ a b O'Neill recollections, published in Lewis and Dryden Marine History, at 29.

## References

[edit]

* Affleck, Edward L., A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska, Alexander Nicolls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 ISBN 0-920034-08-X
* Corning, Howard McKinley, Willamette Landings—Ghost Towns of the River, Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon (2nd Ed. 1973) ISBN 0-87595-042-6
* Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History of Oregon, Vol. II 1848–1888, The History Company, San Francisco 1888
* Hines, H. K. An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon, Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. 1893.
* Horner, John B., "Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature", Gazette-Times Press, Corvallis 1919
* Mills, Randall V., Sternwheelers up the Columbia—A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (1977 reprint of 1947 edition) ISBN 0-8032-5874-7
* O'Neill, Dan, recollections, January 1895, published in Wright, E.W. ed., Lewis and Dryden Marine History, at 28–29.
* Wright, E.W., ed., Lewis and Dryden Marine History of the Northwest, Lewis and Dryden Printing Co., Portland, OR 1895 available on-line at the Washington Secretary of State Historical Section

## Further reading

[edit]

* Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake—Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN 0-9615811-0-7
* Timmen, Fritz, Blow for the Landing, at 228–229, Caxton Press, Caldwell, ID 1973 ISBN 0-87004-221-1

* v
* t
* e

Steamboats of Oregon and the Columbia River basin

* v
* t
* e

Routes

Inland|

* Columbia River (lower)
* Willamette River
* Cowlitz River
* Columbia River (Wenatchee Reach)
* Lake Chelan
* Lake Okanagan
* Arrow Lakes
* Upper Columbia and Kootenay Rivers

Coastal|

* Oregon Coast
* Coquille River
* Coos Bay
* Yaquina Bay and river

* v
* t
* e

Inland and coastal vessels

Inland
vessels|

* Alaskan
* Alice
* Altona
* Astorian (1891)
* Athlon
* B. H. Smith Jr.
* Bailey Gatzert
* Beaver (1835)
* Beaver (1873)
* Bonita (1900)
* Carrie Ladd
* Cascade (1864)
* Charles R. Spencer
* Chester
* Clara Parker
* Colonel Wright
* Columbia (1850)
* Cowlitz (1858)
* Cowlitz (1917)
* Dayton
* Eliza Anderson
* Elwood
* Emma Hayward
* Etna
* Fleetwood
* Gazelle
* Geo. E. Starr
* Georgiana
* Governor Grover
* Gov. Newell
* Grahamona
* Hassalo (1880)
* Harvest Queen
* Hooligan
* Idaho
* Ilwaco
* Imnaha
* John H. Couch
* Joseph Kellogg
* Klamath
* Jean
* Jennie Clark
* Jessie Harkins
* Juneta
* La Center
* Logger
* Lot Whitcomb
* Lucea Mason
* Lurline
* Madeline
* Manzanillo
* Mascot
* Mazama
* Metlako
* Mountain Gem
* Multnomah (1851)
* Nahcotta
* Nespelem
* Nestor
* Nez Perce Chief
* No Wonder
* North Pacific
* North Star
* Northwest
* Ocean Wave
* Olympian (sidewheeler)
* Olympian (sternwheeler)
* Oneonta
* Orient
* Otter
* Pearl
* Portland (1875)
* Portland (1947)
* Quickstep
* R. R. Thompson
* Rabboni
* Regulator
* Relief (1906)
* Robert Young
* Sarah Dixon
* Shoo Fly
* Swan
* Teaser
* Telegraph
* Tenino
* T. J. Potter
* Telephone
* Undine
* Virginia V
* Wallamet
* Wenat
* Wide West
* Willamette Chief
* Wilson G. Hunt
* Winema

Coastal vessels|

* Bayocean
* Gazelle
* General Miles
* Life-Line
* Montesano
* Sue H. Elmore
* T.M. Richardson
* Washington
* W.H. Harrison

Vessel lists|

* Steamboats on the Columbia

Modern ferries|

* Wahkiakum County Ferry
* Needles-Fauquier Ferry (Arrow Lakes)

* v
* t
* e

Companies, shipyards, personnel, and navigation

Portages, locks, and canals|

* Cascade Locks and Canal
* Celilo Canal
* Willamette Locks

Steamboat lines|

* Callendar Navigation Co.
* Harkins Transportation Co.
* Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Co.
* Okanogan Steamboat Co.
* Oregon Railway and Navigation Co.
* Oregon Steam Navigation Co.
* People's Transportation Co.
* Shaver Transportation Co.

Steamboat owners and captains|

* John C. Ainsworth
* Alexander P. Ankeny
* John Bonser
* John H. Couch
* Joseph Kellogg
* George W. Shaver
* James W. Troup
* Henry Villard

Builders and shipyards|

* Jacob Kamm
* John J. Holland

Shipwrecks|

* Shipwrecks of the inland Columbia River
* Steamboat Inspection Service

* v
* t
* e

Steamboats in other areas

Articles by area|

| Washington|

* Lake Washington
* Columbia River
* Cowlitz River
* Grays Harbor
* Willapa Bay
* Columbia River (Wenatchee Reach)
* Lake Crescent

|

British Columbia|

* Upper Fraser River
* Lakes Route
* Arrow Lakes
* Okanagan Lake
* Upper Columbia and Kootenay Rivers
* Skeena River
* Stikine River
* Peace River

Alaska and Yukon|

* Yukon River

Other|

* Mackenzie River

Navboxes|

* Puget Sound
* British Columbia
* Oregon Coast
* California

Lists of vessels|

* Ships in British Columbia
* Retired BC ferries
* Steamboats on the Columbia River
* Puget Sound steamboats

Related topic : Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet

* v
* t
* e

Steamboats of the Willamette River

Particular vessels|

* Columbia (1850)
* Lot Whitcomb (1850)
* Black Hawk (1851)
* Canemah (1851)
* Multnomah (1851)
* Washington (1851)
* Oregon (1852)
* Shoalwater (1852)
* Belle (1853)
* Fenix (1853)
* Portland (1853)
* Wallamet (1853)
* Gazelle (1854)
* Enterprise (1855)
* Jennie Clark (1855)
* Franklin (1855)
* Señorita (1855)
* James Clinton (1856)
* Elk (1857)
* Minnie Holmes (1857)
* Swan (1857)
* Surprise (1857)
* Cowlitz (1858)
* Onward (1858)
* Carrie Ladd (1858)
* Relief (1858)
* Moose (1859)
* Rival (1860)
* Unio /Union (1861)
* Enterprise (1863)
* Senator (1864)
* Alert (1865)
* Active (1865)
* Echo (1865)
* Fannie Patton (1865)
* Shoshone (1866)
* Minnehaha (186)
* Onward (1867)
* Albany (1868)
* Dayton (1868)
* Wenat (1868)
* Shoo Fly (1870)
* Alice (1871)
* Beaver (1873)
* Gov. Grover (1873)
* Willamette Chief (1874)
* Occident (1875)
* Orient (1875)
* O&CRR Ferry No. 2 (1879)
* Manzanillo (1881)
* Three Sisters (1886)
* N.S. Bentley (1886)
* Altona (1890)
* Elwood (1891)
* Northwest (1891)
* Ramona (1892)
* Grey Eagle ((1894)
* Ruth (1895)
* Pomona (1898)
* America (1899)
* Leona (1899)
* Bonita (1900)
* Oregona (1904)
* Gazelle (1905)
* Grahamona (1912)
* Nespelem (1918)
* Robert Young (1920)
* Portland (1947)

Portages, locks, and canals|

* Willamette Falls Locks
* Yamhill River lock and dam

Steamboat lines|

* Upper Willamette Transportation Line (1859)
* Oregon Steam Navigation Company (1860)
* People's Transportation Company (1861)
* Willamette Steam Navigation Company (1865)
* Oregon Pacific Railroad (1880)

Geographic features|

* Willamette River
* Willamette Falls
* Yamhill River
* Oswego Lake
* Tualatin River

Owners and personnel|

* George Abernethy
* John T. Apperson
* Charles H. Bennett
* John H. Couch
* John Gates
* Bernard Goldsmith
* Joseph Kellogg
* James D. Miller
* George A. Pease
* Riley E. Stratton

Builders and shipyards|

* Canemah
* Willamette Iron Works

Shipwrecks|

* Elk
* Gazelle
* Portland
* Senator

Other areas|

* Columbia River
* Oregon Coast
* Yaquina Bay and river
* Coquille River
* Cowlitz River
* Puget Sound
* Lake Washington
* Grays Harbor
* Chehalis River
* Hoquiam River
* Willapa Bay
* Columbia River (Wenatchee Reach)
* Lake Crescent
* Arrow Lakes
* Upper Fraser River
* Skeena River

* v
* t
* e

Pioneer history of Oregon (1806–1890)

Topics|

* American Fur Company
* Columbian exchange
* Executive Committee
* Ferries
* Hudson's Bay Company
* Oregon & California Railroad
* Oregon boundary dispute
* Oregon Country
* Oregon Lyceum
* Oregon missionaries
* Oregon Spectator
* Oregon Territory
* Oregon Trail
* Oregon Treaty
* Organic Laws
* Pacific Fur Company
* Provisional Government

Events|

* Treaty of 1818
* Russo-American Treaty of 1824
* Willamette Cattle Company
* Champoeg Meetings
* Star of Oregon
* Whitman massacre
* Cayuse War
* Donation Land Claim Act
* Holmes v. Ford
* Rogue River Wars
* Constitutional Convention
* Modoc War
* Great Gale of 1880

Places|

* Albina
* Applegate Trail
* Barlow Road
* Canemah
* Champoeg
* Elliott Cutoff
* Fort Astoria
* Fort Dalles
* Fort Vancouver
* Fort William
* French Prairie
* Linn City
* Meek Cutoff
* Methodist Mission
* Oregon City
* Oregon Institute
* Philip Foster Farm
* Thomas and Ruckle Road
* Tualatin Academy
* Whitman Mission
* Willamette Trading Post

People|

* George Abernethy
* Jesse Applegate
* Ira Babcock
* Sam Barlow
* François Blanchet
* William H. Boring
* Elijah Bristow
* Tabitha Brown
* Matthew Deady
* Abigail Scott Duniway
* Thomas Lamb Eliot
* Philip Foster
* Peter French
* Joseph Gale
* Cornelius Gilliam
* David Hill
* Chief Joseph
* Joseph Kellogg
* H.A.G. Lee
* Jason Lee
* David Thomas Lenox
* Asa Lovejoy
* Morton M. McCarver
* John McLoughlin
* Joseph Meek
* Ezra Meeker
* James D. Miller
* John Minto
* Robert Newell
* Joel Palmer
* Osborne Russell
* Sager orphans
* Levi Scott
* Eliza Hart Spalding
* Henry Spalding
* William Vandevert
* Elijah White
* Marcus Whitman
* Narcissa Whitman
* Geo. H. Williams
* Ewing Young

Transportation|

* Columbia
* Lot Whitcomb
* Canemah
* Colonel Wright
* Gazelle
* Oregon Steam Navigation Company

Oregon history|

* Native peoples history
* History to 1806
* Pioneer history
* Modern history

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template