''Chehalis'' was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Chehalis River,

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

, and

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

from 1867 to 1882. This vessel should not be confused with other steam vessels named ''Chehalis''.

Career

''Chehalis'' was built at

Tumwater, Washington Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...

in 1867 by H.H. Hyde. The engines for ''Chehalis'' came from the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

sternwheeler ''Henrietta'', which had been built at

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in 1859. For nearly three years following construction, the owners of ''Chehalis'' tried to compete on

Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuary, estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state, in the United States of America. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the l ...

and the Chehalis River. This proved unsuccessful, and so the vessel was returned to Puget Sound where it proved more profitable. ''Chehalis'' was first put on the route between Snohomish, Port Gamble, and Port Ludlow. ''Chehalis'' was later sold to the

Black Diamond Coal Mining Company The Black Diamond Coal Mining Company was formed in 1861, consolidating the Cumberland and Black Diamond coal mines in the region of Mount Diablo, in Contra Costa County, California.http://www.southport-land.com/PDFs/1861_06_15_1st_mtg_rev3.pdf M ...

of California, which was operating mines in the Black Diamond area south of

. Under Captain Huffner and Capt. William Bailey (1822–1882), ''Chehalis'' was used to tow barges on the lake. (Captain Bailey was later killed in a dock accident at Yesler Wharf.) Capt J.C. Brittain and Capt. Thomas Brennan then bought ''Chehalis'' and ran the vessel on the

Skagit River The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000& ...

. ''Chehalis'' was the first vessel to go up the Skagit as far as

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, and the first to ascend the Sauk River. The vessel was in charge of captains Daniel Benson, Curtis D. Brownfield, and Robert Bailey while on the Skagit River. ''Chehalis'' was also run on the

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route under Capt. Hiram Olney.''Lewis & Dryden Marine History'', at 161.

Wrecked

In November 1882, under the command of Capt. W.F. Munroe, ''Chehalis'' was caught in a gale en route from Snohomish to Seattle. The vessel became unmanageable, and was blown ashore stern first near Ten Mile Point. ''Chehalis'' was a total loss, and her cargo was strewn along ten miles of the shore.

Notes

References

* Affleck, Edward L., ''A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska'', Alexander Nicolls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 * Newell, Gordon R., ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (2nd Ed. 1960) * {{Puget Sound propellers 1867 ships Steamboats of Grays Harbor and Chehalis and Hoquiam Rivers Sternwheelers of Washington (state) Steamboats of Lake Washington History of King County, Washington