''Welcome'' was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Coquille River on the south Oregon coast from 1900 to 1907.

Design, construction, and launch

''Welcome'' was built at Coquille, Oregon, in 1900 by S.H. McAdamsNewell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing (1966), at page 61. The steamer was long, with a beam of and depth of hold of .''Annual List of Merchant Vessels'' (for year ending June 30, 1901)''.
/ref> The overall size of the vessel was 30 gross and 21 registered tons. Power was furnished by twin steam engines, each driving a pitman arm connected to a crankpin on the sternwheel.

Service and route

''Welcome'' was intended to be used for passenger service on the Coquille River. The route on the Coquille ran from Bandon on the coast, upriver to the county sea, Coquille, and then to

Myrtle Point Myrtle Point is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States, established in 1887. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census. Located in the Coquille River Valley, Myrtle Point is part of the Coos Bay/ North Bend/ Charleston Metropolitan Statist ...

, which was near the head of navigation. In 1901 only three steamers served on the river between Coquille and Myrtle Point, these were the propeller ''Reta'' (18 registered tons) the sternwheeler ''Echo'' (53 registered tons) and ''Welcome'' (21 registered tons)."Improvement of Coquille River, Oregon, Between Coquille and Myrtle Point", Corps of Engineers Report (1902), at pages 2365-66.
/ref> Between these three vessels they hauled 1,554 tons of freight upriver and 2,834 tons downriver. Upriver, the biggest single item was general merchandise, 800 tons. Downriver was almost entirely agricultural products, with the biggest single item being 1,035 tons of milk. 10,187 passengers were carried up and downriver.

Stranding and rescue

On March 7, 1902, at 12:30 pm while en route to Bandon, ''Welcome'' became stranded on the north flats of the Coquille River during a very heavy squall, with the wind blowing at gale strength and a rough sea."Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service" (1903), at pages 134-135.
/ref> The vessel was immediately spotted by the personnel at the Coquille River Life-Saving Station, who boarded the steamer and then passed a line to the steamer ''Favorite''. ''Favorite'' however was not able to haul ''Welcome'' off the bank, and so the life-savers returned to the life-saving station in the surfboat, where they obtained an anchor, hawser, and cables, then rowed back to where ''Welcome'' was stranded. They rigged the anchor to ''Welcome'', and that night, when the tide was high, hove the vessel off the bank without damage. Because the master of the ''Welcome'' was unfamiliar with the route, and the night was very dark, the keeper of the life-saving station piloted ''Welcome'' down to Bandon.

Disposition

''Welcome'' was stranded on January 11, 1907, at Myrtle Point and became a total loss. The vessel broke its mooring lines during high water, drifted into trees, and was damaged beyond repair.Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing - A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West'', Caxton Press, Caldwell, ID (1973), at page 204.

Notes

{{1907 shipwrecks 1912 ships Coos County, Oregon Steamboats of Oregon Ships built in Oregon Maritime incidents in 1902 Maritime incidents in 1907 Shipwrecks of the Oregon coast Shipwrecks in rivers