''Vashon'' was a wooden steamboat built in 1905 at

Dockton, Washington Dockton is an unincorporated community in King County, Washington. It is located on Maury Island, along Quartermaster Harbor. Although once an industrial center, Dockton today is a primarily residential area, with many commuters taking the ferry ...

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,6 ...

. The vessel was active on

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 ...

in the early decades of the 1900s. ''Vashon'' should not be confused with the sternwheeler ''Vashon'' which also ran on Puget Sound.

Career

''Vashon'' was built for the Vashon Navigation Company which was then engaged in fierce competition with the Tacoma and Burton Navigation Company for the freight and passenger business on the steamboat routes in the Tacoma and Vashon Island areas of

. ''Vashon'' was the first steamboat constructed by the

Martinolich Shipbuilding Company The Martinolich Shipbuilding Company was founded in the early 1900s by John Martinolich (1877-1960), an Italian immigrant from modern day Croatia. Course of business The company's original shipyard was at Dockton, Washington, but later expanded t ...

, which in 1904, under the company's founder, John Martinolich, a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n immigrant, had set up a shipyard on Vashon Island at the small settlement of Dockton. The Vashon Navigation Company intended ''Vashon'' to replace their steamer ''Norwood'' which had not performed well against the ''Burton'', a new vessel placed in service in 1905 by the rival Tacoma and Burton Navigation Co. ''Vashon'' competed with ''Burton'', and later ''Burtons replacement, ''Magnolia'' by racing from landing to landing trying to be the first to pick up passengers or embark freight. By 1909, the rivalry had died down when ''Magnolia'' was transferred to other routes. ''Vashon'' was dismantled in 1930.

References

* Findlay, Jean Cammon and Paterson, Robin, ''Mosquito Fleet of Southern Puget Sound'', (2008) Arcadia Publishing * Newell, Gordon, ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', Binford and Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960) * Newell, Gordon, and Williamson, Joe, ''Pacific Steamboats'', Bonanza Books, New York, NY (1963) 1905 ships Steamboats of Washington (state) Propeller-driven steamboats of Washington (state) Ships built in Dockton, Washington {{ship-stub