The ''Enterprise'' was an early steamboat operating on the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

in Oregon and also one of the first to operate on 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 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. This vessel should not be confused with the many other vessels, some of similar design, also named ''Enterprise''. In earlier times, this vessel was sometimes called ''Tom Wright's Enterprise'' after one of her captains, the famous Tom Wright.Wright, E.W., ''Lewis & Dryden Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 57-58, Lewis & Dryden Publishing, Portland, OR 1895

Construction

''Enterprise'' was built at

Canemah, Oregon Canemah was an early settlement in the U.S. state of Oregon located near the Willamette River. Canemah was annexed to Oregon City in 1928. Location The district of Canemah is located on the east side of the Willamette River. At that time, Oregon ...

in the fall of 1855 by Capt. Archibald Jamieson, Captain A.S. Murray, Amory Holbrook and John Torrence, in the fall of 1855, for the upper Willamette trade. Her officers on the first trip upriver to Corvallis (then known as Marysville) were: Jamieson, captain ; Chandler, purser; and Torrence, engineer. George A. Pease was afterward employed as pilot, and John Marshall, engineer.

Operations on the Willamette River

From 1855 to 1858 ''Enterprise'' was operated on the

, running between

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

, Canemah, and Corvallis. At that time Corvallis was considered to be the head of navigation on the Willamette. Merchants above Corvallis tried to get Captain Jamieson to bring ''Enterprise'', which he then commanded, above Corvallis, but he would not go farther than Orleans, then a small settlement on the east side of the river across from Corvallis.Corning, Howard McKinley, ''Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the Middle River'', at 119, Oregon History Society, Portland, Oregon (2d Ed. 1973)

Transfer to British Columbia

In July 1858, Jamieson sold ''Enterprise'' to Capt. Thomas A. Wright. Jamieson used the money from the sale of ''Enterprise'' to build the steamer ''Onward''. Tom Wright became one of the most famous steamboat captains in the Pacific Northwest. Like Jamieson, Wright was one of a family in the steamboat business. His father was Capt. John T. Wright, who was the owner of other steamboats, such as ''Sea Bird'' and ''Commodore''. The other two sons, also steamboat captains, were George S. Wright and John T. Wright, Jr.Carey, Roland, ''Sound of Steamers," at 42-43, 54, 55-57, Alderbrook Publishing, Seattle, WA 1965Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 130, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966 Tom Wright's plan for ''Enterprise'' was to take the vessel into British waters to serve the

Fraser River Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's c ...

. The first part of the journey began by moving ''Enterprise'' from the upper to the lower Willamette River by

lining Lining may refer to: * Lining (sewing), the process of inserting an inner layer of fabric, fur, or other material * Lining of paintings, the process of restoration paintings by attaching a new canvas to the back of the existing one * Brake linin ...

the vessel over

Willamette Falls The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Northwestern United States by volume, and the seventeenth widest in the wor ...

. These falls could not be navigated by steamboats, and indeed Captain Jamieson was later killed when a vessel under his command was accidentally swept over them and destroyed. ''Lining'' was procedure where a heavy cable was attached to the vessel, and then to a well-anchored windlass on shore. Little by little the cable would be let out to allow the vessel to gradually pass over the falls to the lower river. Wright then took ''Enterprise'' down the lower Willamette and Columbia rivers to

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

. Once there, Wright arranged for an ocean-going steamship to tow ''Enterprise'' to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. Victoria, then the largest settlement on the Pacific Coast of North America north of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. ''Enterprise'' left Astoria under tow, but the strong waves on the

Columbia Bar The Columbia Bar, also frequently called the Graveyard of the Pacific, is a system of bar (landform), bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It is known as one of th ...

caused ''Enterprise'' to be so terribly racked that the vessel began leaking, and it was only by luck that they got ''Enterprise'' back into shallow water at Astoria before she sank. She was raised and repaired, and started again in August for Victoria, again under tow.

Operations in British Columbia

''Enterprise'' arrived in Victoria in the middle of August 1858. 'Other steamboats that arrived at Victoria at almost the same time that summer were ''Wilson G. Hunt'', ''Martin White'', and ''Maria''.Downs, Art, ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers'', at 28-29, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1872 ''Enterprise'' with other American steamboats obtained a license from the governor of British Columbia to operate in British territory. ''Enterprise'' was the second steam-powered vessel to operate on the Fraser River, and had been brought up to Victoria in July 1858. The first vessel was another American steamer, the ''Umatilla'' ex ''Fashion'' from the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. ''Enterprise'' was very successful on the

, earning $25,000 in one trip up to Murderer's Bar, near Fort Hope, BC. 25,000 miners went into the Fraser diggings in the summer of 1858, but by the winter only 3,000 remained. With the drop in the population of miners, by the fall of 1858, ''Enterprise'' was one of only two steamboats operating on the Fraser River, the other being ''Maria'', under Capt. William A. Lubbock. For a time at least, the two boats divided the traffic between them, with ''Maria'' running upriver from Fort Langley to Fort Hope and other points, and ''Enterprise'' running between Fort Langley and Victoria, on Vancouver Island. With a monopoly on transport, the two boats were able to raise freight rates from $4 to $7 per ton in the summer to $60 a ton. Beans that cost 3 cents a pound in Victoria cost 75 cents in

Lytton, British Columbia Lytton is a village of about 250 residents in southern British Columbia, Canada, on the east side of the Fraser River and primarily the south side of the Thompson River, where it flows southwesterly into the Fraser. The community includes th ...

. On December 9, 1858, ''Enterprise'' was caught in the ice on the Fraser River between Fort Hope and

Fort Langley Fort Langley is a village community in Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of approximately 3,400 people. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company. ...

. The vessel was short on food and accommodations, and so 114 of the passengers decided to leave the steamer and walk the remaining distance to Fort Langley. In the cold weather, this proved a mistake, as they had inadequate clothing and insufficient clothing and camping provisions to make the journey. After three days in the ice, Captain Wright was able to hack the ''Enterprise'' free. He then cruised up and down the river, eventually rescuing all of the passengers, many of whom were suffering from frostbite. ''Enterprise'' built for the Willamette River was not strong enough to regularly cross the often stormy

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

, which was the body of water that separated

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

from the mouth of the Fraser River on the mainland. The Wrights however had no choice in the matter if they were to remain in business, because the vessel they had been running on the route, the ''Sea Bird'' was destroyed by fire in the Strait of Georgia on September 7, 1858, while en route from Victoria to Fort Langley. By the spring of 1859, Capt. John T. Wright was able to replace ''Sea Bird'' by purchasing an interest in the sidewheeler ''Eliza Anderson'', and arranging to have the ''Anderson'' brought from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

where she had been recently built, to Victoria, BC, where she arrived in late March, 1859. This allowed the Wrights to run the heavier more durable Anderson across the Straits to Fort Langley, while returning ''Enterprise'' to the 'Fraser River to make the run up from Fort Langley. On March 30, 1859, with Captain Tom Wright in command, ''Enterprise'' set out upriver from Fort Langley (after meeting the ''Anderson''). The river was rising high with the rapidly melting snowfall, and with a new boiler installed in the ''Enterprise'' Captain Wright hoped to take the vessel all the way to Fort Yale. Only one other steamboat had ever made it to Fort Yale, the ''Umatilla'' which by then was no longer on the Fraser River. This time, Captain Wright was unable to go further up than Fort Hope. ''Enterprise'' was not powerful enough to beat the strong currents forming whirlpools in the river. Another constant hazard were logs caught in the river bottom, forming "snags" which could damage or destroy a steam vessel.

Failed transfer to Chehalis River

To command a steamboat at a time when there were neither roads nor railroads in the Pacific Northwest was to be in a spectacular opportunity to earn money. Tom Wright never became rich because he could never settle down to running a vessel on a particular route for a sustained period of time. As soon as he mastered one route, he would be looking for another one. In June 1859 Captain Wright was ready to make another change. Hearing of homesteading activity beginning in the valley of the Chehalis River, in the western part of what is now

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, Wright determined to take ''Enterprise'' to the Chehalis. This would require the lightly built ''Enterprise'' to be towed, in this case by the ''Eliza Anderson'' west through the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

and then south down the coast line of the Pacific Ocean to

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 ...

. The Chehalis River flows into Grays Harbor on its eastern shore, near where the modern cities of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Hoquiam, Washington Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a common economic history in lumbering and exporting, but Hoquiam has mainta ...

are now located. Wright begin this journey from Victoria on July 8, 1859, with ''Eliza Anderson'' towing ''Enterprise''. In the Strait of Juan de Fuca ''Enterprise'' broke a shaft on her sternwheel, and the entire expedition was forced to turn back to Esquimalt, where ''Enterprise'' had to wait for a replacement shaft to be brought in from San Francisco.

Run to San Juan Islands

''Enterprise'' was repaired by the end of July 1859, and by that time there was a demand for steamers to carry troops to the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

. At that time the boundary between the United States and British Columbia was in dispute, with both countries claiming the San Juan Islands. British and American garrisons were established on San Juan Island. At one point a soldier shot a pig belonging to a partisan of the opposing country, and as a result the otherwise bloodless standoff became known as the Pig War. Steamboats in the area received contracts from both countries to move troops and supplies to the islands in connection with the dispute. Once ''Enterprise'' was repaired, Tom Wright postponed his plans to move the vessel to the Chehalis to take advantage of the increase in business, making a run on August 1, 1859, from Victoria to San Juan Island carrying passengers.

Completed transfer to Chehalis River

Following the San Juan Island trip, Tom Wright was finally able to get ''Enterprise'' around

Cape Flattery Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, and ...

and south to Grays Harbor and the Chehalis River. Wright's plan had been to earn huge freight rates and passenger fares from what he had thought would be the booming population in the Chehalis valley, Wright worked ''Enterprise'' to the head of navigation on the Chehalis, sinking three times on the way. When he finally arrived at the headwaters, Wright found not a booming population ready to pay lots of money for steamboat service, but only five farmers who offered to sell Wright a few eggs, butter and vegetables for fifty dollars. Disgusted with the situation, Wright tied up the ''Enterprise'' and returned to Puget Sound. By the spring of 1860, Wright was able to arrange a government contract to transport troops down the Chehalis River to Grays Harbor, and so was able to recoup some of his losses. Once the government contract work expired, there was no further business in the Grays Harbor area. Unable to move the lightly built vessel again on the open ocean, Wright dismantled ''Enterprise'' at Grays Harbor, with the machinery being shipped to China.