The steamship ''Calista'' was a small steamboat of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.

Career

''Calista'' was built in 1911 at the Martinolich shipyard at

Dockton, Washington Dockton is an unincorporated community in King County, Washington. It is located on Maury Island, along Quartermaster Harbor. Although once an industrial center, Dockton today is a primarily residential area, with many commuters taking the ferry ...

. The vessel is best known for an event which occurred on November 5, 1916. The vessel, preceded by the steamboat ''Verona'' was transporting members of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, in connection with a labor dispute. On the arrival of ''Verona'' in Everett, a shooting broke out which has since become known as the

Everett Massacre The Everett Massacre (also known as Bloody Sunday) was an armed confrontation between local authorities and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, commonly called "Wobblies". It took place in Everett, Washington on Sunday, ...

. Because of the shooting, ''Verona'' did not land her IWW passengers in Everett, and returned to Seattle. On the return, ''Verona'' encountered ''Calista'' bound for Everett, and warned ''Calista'' not to proceed. ''Calista'' then reversed course and returned to Seattle. ''Calista'' was wrecked in 1924.

References

* Kline, M.S., and Bayless, G.A., ''Ferryboats -- A legend on Puget Sound'', Bayless Books, Seattle, WA 1983 * Newell, Gordon, ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', Binford and Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960) 1911 ships Steamboats of Washington (state) Passenger ships of the United States Propeller-driven steamboats of Washington (state) Ships built in Dockton, Washington Industrial Workers of the World in Washington (state) {{ship-stub