Washoe (steamboat)

Boilers exploded 1864 in California

Steamer Washoe (on left, at dock) and Oakland ferry. One-half of stereograph, publisher's number 303 c. 1866

Washoe was an 1864 steamboat of the Sacramento River watershed in California, United States.

## History

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Washoe suffered a catastrophic boiler explosion six months after she was launched. She was heading upriver from San Francisco to Sacramento when the boilers blew near Steamboat Slough, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Rio Vista.[1] The explosion of 9 p.m. on September 5, 1864, resulted in 54 confirmed deaths and 67 missing passengers.[2] Other accounts have the confirmed death toll from 70 to more than 80.[3][1][4] The history of Sacramento County published in 1890 pegs the deal toll at close to 90.[5] According to the New York Times, "the engineer said before he died that the cause of the explosion was rotten iron in the boiler."[6] According to another report, Washoe was racing Chrysopolis at the time of the explosion.[7] Mark Twain was a news writer for the San Francisco Call at the time and wrote up the newspaper's mournful coverage of the tragedy.[4] Owner Captain Kidd had her salvaged and restored and she steamed again until 1878 when a catastrophic fire put her out of service for good.[8]

## See also

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* Yosemite (sidewheeler) § Service in California

## References

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1. ^ a b "Explosion on board the Washoe". The Sacramento Bee. September 6, 1864. p. 3. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
2. ^ "Days Gone By: 1864: Paddle-wheeler Washoe's boilers explode on S.F.-Sacramento trip". The Mercury News. May 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
3. ^ "Steamboat Catastrophe—Explosion of the Boiler of the Steamer Washoe". Chico Weekly Chronicle-Record. September 10, 1864. p. 2. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
4. ^ a b Secrest, William B. Jr.; Seacrest, William B. Sr. (2006). "1864: Explosion of the Washoe". California Disasters, 1812-1899: Firsthand Accounts of Fires, Shipwrecks, Floods, Epidemics, Earthquakes and Other California Tragedies. Quill Driver Books. pp. 106–109\. ISBN 978-1-884995-49-1.
5. ^ Davis, Winfield J. (1890). An Illustrated History of Sacramento County, California: Containing a History of Sacramento County from the Earliest Period of Its Occupancy to the Present Time, Together with Glimpses of Its Prospective Future ... Portraits of Some of Its Most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of Many of Its Pioneers and Also Prominent Citizens of Today. Lewis Publishing Company.
6. ^ "From the Pacific Coast". The New York Times. September 8, 1864. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
7. ^ Canavit, Jerry (2017). "Steamboat Racing and Boiler Explosions" (PDF). steamboats.org. p. 4.
8. ^ A Map and Record Investigation of HISTORICAL SITES AND SHIPWRECKS ALONG THE SACRAMENTO RIVER Between Sacramento City and Sherman Island (PDF) (Report). California State Lands Commission. 1988. p. 153.

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Steamboats of California

Particular vessels|

* Annie Abernathy
* Antelope
* Aquilo (yacht)
* City of Sacramento
* Bayocean
* Black Hawk
* Capital
* Captain Sutter
* Chrysopolis
* City of Seattle
* Delta King
* Delta Queen
* Eureka
* El Dorado
* El Primero
* George E. Starr
* General Frisbie
* Georgiana
* Goliah
* Hartford
* Governor Dana
* Ilwaco
* Issaquah
* Jack Hays
* Klamath (inland steamboat)
* Ocean Wave
* Magdalena
* McKim
* Mint
* Monarch
* New World
* Pioneer
* Rabboni
* Rosalie
* Sacramento
* San Rafael
* SS Senator
* Sitka
* Telephone
* Wallamet
* Washington
* Washoe
* Wilson G. Hunt
* Yosemite

Ferries of San Francisco Bay|

* Clinton
* Contra Costa
* Oakland
* Piedmont
* Solano
* Thoroughfare
* Transit
* Ukiah

Steamboat lines|

* Aspinwall Steam Transportation Line
* California Steam Navigation Company
* Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company
* George A. Johnson & Company
* Pacific Mail Steamship Company
* Simmons, Hutchinson & Company

Water routes|

* California Coast
* Colorado River
* San Francisco Bay
* Sacramento River
* San Joaquin River

Owners and captains|

* Joseph Barnard
* Benjamin M. Hartshorne
* George A. Johnson
* William Leidesdorff
* Charles Minturn
* James Turnbull
* Issac Warren

Builders|

* Domingo Marcucci
* John G. North
* Henry Owens
* Austin Hills
* Patrick Henry Tiernan

Shipyards|

* Hunters Point
* North's Shipyard
* Potrero Point
* Rincon Point
* Steamboat Point
* Sutter Iron Works
* Tichenor's Ways
* Union Iron Works
* Yerba Buena Cove

Lists of vessels|

* List of steamboats on the Colorado River
* List of steamboats and steam ferries on San Francisco Bay
* List of steamboats on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries

Steamboats in other areas|

* Columbia River
* Willamette 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

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