Upper Willamette Transportation Line
The Upper Willamette Transportation Line was a line of four inland steamboats that operated from the fall of 1859 to the summer of 1860 on the upper Willamette River in the state of Oregon, United States.
 | |
| Industry | river transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 1, 1859 |
| Founder | Theodore Wygant (1831-1905) |
| Defunct | June 30, 1860 |
| Headquarters | Oregon City, Oregon |
Area served | Upper Willamette River |
Operations
As of November 1, 1859, businessman Theodore Wygant (1831-1905) was the agent in Portland, Oregon for the steamers Elk, Onward, Surprise, and Relief.[1] Wygant formed these steamers into the Upper Willamette Transportation Company, and starting November 19, 1859, advertised, stage of water permitting, steamers of the line would depart for Corvallis twice a week, and, for Eugene City, once a week.[1] This arrangement was advertised until June 30, 1860.[2]
In 1860, the steamers of the line were competing against two powerful companies on the Willamette River, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and the People's Transportation Company.[3]
Steamers of the line
All vessels of the line were wooden-hulled sternwheelers, built in the 1850s at Canemah, Oregon.[4]
- Elk, built 1857, destroyed by boiler explosion at Davidson’s Landing, near present day Dundee, Oregon, on November 17, 1860.[4][5][6]
- Onward, built 1858 for Archibald "Archie" Jamieson (d.1861), later came under control of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, then transferred to the People's Transportation Company in 1864, dismantled 1865 at Canemah.[4] Engines to Fannie Patton.[7] (Not to be confused with later Onward built 1867.)
- Relief, built 1858 at Oregon City for Cassidy & Co. Dismantled 1865 at Canemah.[4]
- Surprise, built 1857, laid up 1864.[4]
Notes
- "UPPER WILLAMETTE Transportation Line". The Oregon Argus (advertisement). Vol. 5, no. 48. Oregon City, OR: D.W. Craig. Mar 10, 1860. p.3, col.3.
- "UPPER WILLAMETTE Transportation Line". The Oregon Argus (advertisement). Vol. 6, no. 12. Oregon City, OR: D.W. Craig. Jun 30, 1860. p.3, col.5.
- Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). "Paddle-Wheels and Smoke Plumes". Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the River (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. p. 122. ISBN 0875950426.
- Affleck, Edward L. (2000). "Part One: Chapter Two. Columbia River Waterways — List of Vessels". A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska. Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. pp. 12, 22, & 26. ISBN 0-920034-08-X.
- William L. Adams, ed. (Nov 24, 1860). "These Offices … THE STEAMER ELK BLOWN UP.— On Saturday afternoon last, the steamer Elk exploded her boiler …". The Oregon Argus. Vol. 6, no. 33. Oregon City, OR: D.W. Craig. p.2, col.3.
- Mills, Randall V. (1947). "Chapter 9: As the Sparks Fly Upwards". Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska. p. 117. ISBN 0-8032-5874-7. LCCN 77007161.
- "Early Steamers on Willamette River described". The Oregonian (recollections of Edwin T. Hatch). Vol. 36, no. 30. Jul 29, 1917. Section Two, p.14, col.2.
References
Books
- Affleck, Edward L. (2000). A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska. Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. ISBN 0-920034-08-X.
- Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the River (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. ISBN 0875950426.
- Mills, Randall V. (1947). Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska. ISBN 0-8032-5874-7. LCCN 77007161.
- Wright, E.W., ed. (1895). Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. LCCN 28001147.