Minnie Mae Mossman Hill (July 20, 1863 - January 9, 1946) was an American

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

captain. Hill was the first woman to hold a captain's license on 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, ...

. She commanded her own vessels and traded along the river during her career.

Biography

Minnie Hill was born on July 20, 1863 in

Albany, Oregon Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Ben ...

where she spent her early life. Her father, Isaac Mossman, had been an agent of the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...

and her mother, Nellie, an early pioneer of Oregon. Minnie married Charles Hill, captain of the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

'' Joseph Kellogg'', in 1883. They lived together on the ship for three years, where Minnie Hill helped Charles with his work and the couple saved $1,000. While on the ship, she learned detailed skills relating to fixing and maintaining boats,

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

and piloting skills. With the saved money, they bought their own ship, a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

Gov Newell at La Center 13 May 1900 (cropped)

Hill earned her master's and pilot's license on November 20, 1887. Her testing to earn her license was very difficult because "the examiners wanted to refuse her a license without justification". After earning her license, she became the new commander of the steamer ''Minnie Hill''. She also became the first licensed woman to run a steamer on the

. Later, Hill and her husband bought the ''Clatsop Chief'' and the '' Governor Newell''. She ran this ship as the captain for 14 years while Charles worked as the engineer and piloted up and down the Columbia River. She also was instrumental in doing business with the Chinookan people along the river. Hill was invited by the Chicago World's Fair to be the guest at the Women's Building exhibition in 1893, though she turned the invitation down. During her time as a captain, she had two children, but only one lived. Her son, Herbert Wells Hill, was born on September 1894 and lived on boats until he was old enough to start school. Around the 1900s, she retired and went on to become a member of the Veteran Steamboatmen's Association. She also went on to "devote herself to raising her son". Her husband died in

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 ...

in 1942. Hill died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

on January 9, 1946 from a "heart ailment". She was inducted into the National Rivers Hall of Fame in 2017.

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* 1863 births 1946 deaths Maritime pilotage People from Albany, Oregon People from San Francisco Steamship captains {{Authority control