Dora (sternwheeler)
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''Dora'' was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Coquille River on the southern coast of
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
from 1912 to 1923. This vessel should not be confused with a number of other craft of the same name operating at the same time in other parts of North America.


Design and construction

''Dora'' was built at
Randolph, Oregon Randolph is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States, founded as a "black sand" gold mining boomtown in the 1850s. Although it is considered a ghost town because there are no significant structures left at the site, the ...
in 1910 by the Herman Brothers Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing (1966), at pages 174 and 391. The steamer was long, with a beam of and depth of hold of . U.S. Treasury Dept., Statistics Bureau, ''Annual List of Merchant Vessels'' (for year ending June 30, 1911)'', at page 166.
/ref> The overall size of the vessel was 77 gross and 64 registered tons. Power was furnished by twin steam engines, each driving a pitman arm connected to a crankpin on the sternwheel, with 55 total indicated horsepower for both combined. Total required crew was shown as two. ''Dora'' was built for Russell Panter, who named the vessel after his daughter.King, Chuck, Kirk, Linda, and Prola, Carolyn, ''Myrtle Creek and Vicinity: 1893-1950'', Arcadia 2014, at page 27. Panter was doing business as the Myrtle Point Transportation Company."News of Nearby Towns -- Plans New Boat", ''Coos Bay Times'', September 2, 1913.


Service and route

''Dora'' was intended to be used for passenger service on the Coquille River. ''Dora'' was placed on a route running from Bandon on the coast, to the county seat at Coquille and then upriver to
Myrtle Point Myrtle Point is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States, established in 1887. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census. Located in the Coquille River Valley, Myrtle Point is part of the Coos Bay/ North Bend/ Charleston Metropolitan Statist ...
. ''Dora'' served this route in conjunction with the smaller sternwheeler, ''Myrtle'', also owned by the Myrtle Point Transportation Company. Typical service included: * On Friday, November 14, 1913, ''Dora'' transported about 20 residents of Bandon members of the Sisters of Pythias to a sisterhood meeting at
Myrtle Point, Oregon Myrtle Point is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States, established in 1887. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census. Located in the Coquille River Valley, Myrtle Point is part of the Coos Bay/ North Bend/ Charleston Metropolitan Statist ...
. * On Sunday, February 22, 1914, ''Dora'' transported several persons from Bandon to
Prosper, Oregon Prosper is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States. It is about northwest of Bandon next to the Coquille River. There is no longer a town at the site. The first cannery on the Coquille River was started in about 1882 ...
to witness the launching of the sternwheeler ''Telegraph''."Myrtle Point Items", February 24, 1914, page 1, col. 2.


Competition with rival vessels

In 1915, ''Dora'' came into fierce competition with the gasoline launch ''Charm''. There was a collision between ''Dora'' and ''Charm'', and the captains of the vessels, Willard, of ''Dora'', and Panter, of ''Charm'', each claimed the collision was the other's fault."Steamboat Controversy May Be Brought to Head", ''Semi-Weekly Bandon Recorder'', January 29, 1915, page 1, col. 6.
/ref> Following the collision, the crews of the two vessels exchanged intemperate words, and someone was said to have thrown a gaspipe through a window on one of the vessels, while it was also claimed that someone had heaved a can of coal oil at the ''Dora''. Someone concerned about passenger safety contacted Sheriff Johnson, who in turn referred the matter to the Steamboat Inspection Service. The inspectors instructed captains Willard and Panter to each submit written reports of the incident. On February 3, 1915, following a two-day trial before inspectors Edwards and Fuller, the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service suspended, for 20 months each, the licenses of Captains Walter Panter and Allen Panter, as well as that of engineer Wm. Panter, all of the Myrtle Point Transportation Company, as well as the licenses of Capt. O. R. Willard and engineer Elmer Willard, both of the Coquille River Company."Riverboat Men Get Vacations", ''Bandon Recorder'', February 5, 1915, page 1, col. 6.
/ref> Both the Panters and the Willards were barred from operating any vessel on the Coquille River or anywhere else.


Loss of a crewman

On November 29, 1918, it was reported that Earl Randall, of
Dundee, Oregon Dundee is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,162 at the 2010 census. History The first post office in the area was Ekins, established in 1881. Dundee is named in honor of the birthplace of William Reid, Dundee ...
, a crewman on ''Dora'', had been lost overboard during his course of duty and drowned."Twenty Years Ago", ''Coquille Valley Sentinel'', November 24, 1938, page 4, col. 4. The incident occurred on the Coquille River near Riverton while the vessel was steaming towards Coquille. Randall was last seen walking through the engine room. The next thing that was noticed was his cries for help as he came up to the surface of the river from underwater. The vessel was reversed and a life ring was thrown, but it was too late. Randall's body was recovered two hours later.


Salvage of ''Myrtle''

In February 1921, the small steamer ''Myrtle'' had sunk at a dock at
Myrtle Point Myrtle Point is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States, established in 1887. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census. Located in the Coquille River Valley, Myrtle Point is part of the Coos Bay/ North Bend/ Charleston Metropolitan Statist ...
. On board ''Myrtle'' was a cargo consisting of most of a rail car load of canned carrots. ''Dora'', then owned by the Panter family doing business as the Myrtle Point Transportation Company, was sent to Myrtle Point to aid in the salvage of ''Myrtle'' and the sunken vessel's cargo.


Disposition

''Dora'' was abandoned in 1927 along the bank of the Coquille River on the ranch of Paris Ward, one of the shareholders in the Myrtle Point Transportation Company.Panter, William, "Early River Traffic on the Coquille," ''Glancing Back (Pioneer Lore)'', at 16-19, Vol. I, No. 1, Coos-Curry Pioneer and Historical Association, 1971


See also

*
Steamboats of the Coquille River The Coquille River starts in the Siskiyou National Forest and flows hundreds of miles through the Coquille Valley on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Bandon, Oregon, sits at the mouth of the Coquille River on the Pacific Ocean. Before the era of ra ...


Notes


References


Historic Oregon Newspapers
* Newell, Gordon R. ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966) {{Oregon Coast Steamboats 1910 ships Coos County, Oregon Steamboats of Oregon Ships built in Oregon