''Governor Grover'' was a sternwheel steamboat that ran 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 ...
during the 1870s. Because of the completion of the
Willamette Locks in late 1872, it was possible for vessels such as ''Governor Grover'' to be built in
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 ...
and then readily navigate the Willamette above
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 ...
.
Construction
''Governor Grover'' was built in 1873 for the Willamette River Navigation Company
[Sometimes this company is seen referred to as the "Willamette River Transportation Company", for example, in Wright, ed., ''Lewis & Dryden Marine History'', at 206.] which had been formed to compete with the monopoly on the river that was then held by the
People's Transportation Company
The People's Transportation Company operated steamboats on the Willamette River and its tributaries, the Yamhill and Tualatin rivers, in the State of Oregon from 1862 to 1871. For a brief time this company operated steamers on the Columbia Rive ...
, which by 1873 had come under the control of steamboat and stagecoach magnate
Ben Holladay
Benjamin Holladay (October 14, 1819 – July 8, 1887) was an American transportation businessman responsible for creating the Overland Stage to California during the height of the 1849 California Gold Rush. Ben Holladay created a stagecoach ...
. Among the backers of the Willamette River Navigation Company were the important businessman
Bernard Goldsmith
Bernard Goldsmith (November 20, 1832 – July 22, 1901) was a Bavarian-American businessman and politician. He is best remembered as the 19th mayor of Portland, Oregon, serving from 1869 to 1871, and as the first Jew to hold that position.
...
and the steamboat men
Jacob Kamm
Jacob Kamm (12 December 1823 – 16 December 1912) was a prominent early transportation businessman in Oregon, USA.
Early life
Kamm was born on 12 December 1823, in Canton of Glarus, Switzerland.
His family migrated to America when he was 8 to ...
and
Joseph Kellogg
Joseph Kellogg was a well-known steamboat captain and businessman of Portland, Oregon.
Early life
Joseph Kellogg was born in Canada on June 12, 1812. His father Orrin Kellogg (September 4, 1790 – February 14, 1872) was born in St. Albans, Ver ...
, with the latter supervising construction of the ''Grover''.
[Wright, E.W., ed., ''Lewis & Dryden Marine History'', at 23, 205.] ''Grover'' was named after La Fayette Grover
La Fayette Grover (November 29, 1823May 10, 1911) was a United States Democratic Party, Democratic politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was the List of Governors of Oregon, fourth Governor of Oregon, represented Oregon in the ...
(1823-1911) fourth governor of the state of Oregon (1870-1877). Other vessels built by the Willamette River Navigation Company included the sternwheelers ''Vancouver'' (1870), ''Beaver'' (1873), and ''Willamette Chief'' (1874).
Operation
''Grover'' was launched on January 28, 1873, and made her first trip on March 16, 1873. Officers at first were Charles Holman, Captain, George Marshall, chief engineer, and A. Vickers and Charles Kellogg, pilots.[
Shortly after construction ''Governor Grover'' passed into the ownership of the Willamette Falls Locks and Canal Company. ''Governor Grover'' worked on the Willamette River and, on March 18, 1873, was the first large vessel to go as far upriver as ]Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
.[Mills, ''Sternwheelers up Columbia'', at 103, 143, 194.][ ''Grover'' achieved some success in driving down rates, and became popular among the farmers of the ]Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
.[Corning, ''Willamette Landings'', at 126 and 184.]
In 1874 Capt. Holman was succeeded in command by Capt. James Wilson, who remained with the vessel for several years.[ The Willamette Falls Locks and Canal Company sold ''Grover'' to the ]Oregon Steam Navigation Company
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company (O.S.N.) was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen. It was incorporated in Washington because of a lack of corporate laws in ...
, which worked the vessel on all routes running out of 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 ...
.[
]
Disposition
In 1880, ''Governor Grover'' was dismantled at 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 ...
.[
]
Notes
References
* Affleck, Edward L., ''A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska'', Alexander Nicolls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000
* Corning, Howard McKinley, ''Willamette Landings—Ghost Towns of the River'', Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon (2nd Ed. 1973)
* Mills, Randall V., ''Sternwheelers up the Columbia—A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country'', University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (1977 reprint of 1947 edition)
* Wright, E.W., ed., ''Lewis & Dryden 's Marine History of the Northwest'', Lewis & Dryden Printing Co., Portland, OR 1895, available on-line at th
Washington Secretary of State Historical Section
Further reading
* Faber, Jim, ''Steamer's Wake—Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River'', Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985
* Newell, Gordon R., and Williamson, Joe, ''Pacific Steamboats'' Bonanza Press, New York, NY 1958
* Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing—A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West'', Caxton Press, Caldwell, ID 1973
{{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Grover (Sternwheeler)
Steamboats of Oregon
Steamboats of the Willamette River
Steamboats of the Columbia River
Passenger ships of the United States
Merchant ships of the United States
1873 ships
Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company
Willamette River Transportation Company