The sternwheeler ''Multnomah'' was built at East Portland,

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 ...

in 1885 and operated on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers until 1889 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She was later transferred to

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 became one of the better known steamboats operating there.

Construction and Early Operations

She was built for the run from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

to Oregon City and was considered one of the top boats on the Willamette River at the time.Newell, Gordon R., ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', at 120-21, 131, 148, 165, Binford and Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960) One of her early captains was James D. Miller (1830–1914).Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 57, 88, 101, 197, 214, 233, 249, 358, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966

Transfer to Puget Sound

In 1889, ''Multnomah'' was transferred to Puget Sound, where under the ownership of the S. Willey Navigation Company she made regular runs from Olympia to points on Puget Sound. In 1900, Captain H.H. McDonald (1857–1924), who had already been operating the sternwheelers ''Elwood'' and ''Skagit Queen'' on the lower Sound, bought ''Multnomah'' and ''Capital City'' (ex-''Dalton'') from S. Willey Navigation, and put them in competition with the ''Greyhound'', which had been taken off the Seattle-Tacoma run. There was a rate war between the two concerns, and eventually ''Greyhound''’s owners, acting as the Olympia-Tacoma Navigation Company, bought ''Multnomah'' and ''Capital City'' from Captain McDonald. Captain George W. Barlow, a son of an Oregon pioneer family, commanded all three vessels at various times; he retired in 1910. In 1900, ''Multnomah'' and ''City of Aberdeen'' hauled beer from the Olympia Brewery to various points on Puget Sound. Once acquired by the Olympia-Tacoma Navigation Company, ''Greyhound'' ran with ''Multnomah'' on the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia route, making at various smaller landings in the South Sound, including

Three Tree Point Three Tree Point is a low, gravelly, triangle-shaped spit jutting into the east side of Puget Sound. It is referred to on some navigation charts as "Point Pully", in recognition of crew member Robert Pulley of the Wilkes Expedition. History In ...

and Johnson’s Landing on Anderson Island. Other captains for the Olympia-Tacoma Navigation Company included George L. Hill, who was in command on November 10, 1904 when ''Multnomah'' collided with the French full-rigged ship ''Amiral Cecile'' in

Commencement Bay Commencement Bay is a bay of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. The city of Tacoma is located on the bay, with the Port of Tacoma occupying the southeastern end. A line drawn from Point Defiance in the southwest to Browns Point in th ...

. In foggy conditions, the steamboat passed under the bowsprit of the ship, and the ship’s anchor flukes caught in the steamer’s upper works, tearing them up. Litigation went on for eight years over this, amid apparently credible charges that witnesses had been paid off. In 1907, ''Multnomah'' was converted from wood to oil-fired boilers. Almost all the boats built after 1905 were oil-fired, and they had improved locomotive-style boilers which lessened the chances of explosion. The Olympia-Tacoma Navigation Company kept both ''Multnomah'' and ''Greyhound'' on the Tacoma-Olympia run until 1911, when they were replaced with the new express propeller steamer ''Nisqually''. Even then, bus lines (called then the “auto stage”) were starting to compete with the steamboats. At some point she was assigned work as a towboat.Weinstein, Robert A., ''Tall Ships on Puget Sound – The Marine Photographs of Wilhelm Hester'', at page 85, University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA 1978 (showing photo of ''Multnomah'' acting as tug for schooner Endeavor)

Collision and sinking

''Multnomah'' met her end on October 28, 1911, when in a dense fog in

Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s an ...

, she was rammed by the steamer ''Iroquois'', sinking in 240 feet of water.

Notes

External links

Historic photographs from on-line collections of University of Washington

''Multnomah'' at Chautauqua Dock, Vashon Island''Multnomah'', apparently on Puget Sound

Website

{{Puget Sound sternwheelers History of Washington (state) Paddle steamers of Oregon Steamboats of the Columbia River Maritime incidents in 1911 Steamboats of Washington (state) Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1885 ships