People's Transportation Company
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The People's Transportation Company operated steamboats 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 ...
and its tributaries, the Yamhill and Tualatin rivers, in the
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from 1862 to 1871. For a brief time this company operated steamers on the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
, and for about two months in 1864, the company operated a small steamer on the
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.


Formation of the company

The People's Transportation Company, often called the P.T. Company, was organized in 1862 to compete with 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 ...
, commonly known as the O.S.N. Almost every steamboat man not associated with O.S.N. were either founders of the P.T. Company, or were afterwards associated with it. The principals in the founding of the P.T. company were two brothers, both businessmen and farmers: Asa Alfred McCully (1818-1886) and David McCully (b.1814). Other officers were Stephen T. Church (1829-1871); Edwin N. Cook (or Cooke) (1810-1879), businessman and Oregon State Treasurer from 1862 to 1870; steamboat captain Ephraim W. Baughman; businessman and politician Stephen Coffin; and master shipbuilder John D. Biles. There were about 65 stockholders. Stephen Coffin was the first president, and Edwin Cook and the McCully brothers were directors. The McCullys, who were heavy shippers in the Willamette Valley, had invested $3,000 into a steamer, the ''James Clinton'' to assure access to river shipping free of monopoly control.


Success on the Willamette River

In the spring of 1863, development of mines east of the Cascades Mountains created a demand for shipping on the Columbia River. The P.T. Company, wishing to take advantage of this, built the sidewheeler ''Iris'' at
The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles ( ;) formally the City of the Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port, the county seat of and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 United ...
, to run in competition with the O.S.N. sidewheeler
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on the short stretch of the Columbia River between the Cascades and Celilo Rapids. For service above the falls, the P.T. Company made arrangements with the owners of two steamers built the previous year, ''Spray'' and ''Kiyus'', to carry passengers and freight further up the Columbia and then the
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rivers, to
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, which was the jump-off point for the mines. O.S.N. had a portage railway to carry freight around Celilo Falls, which they refused to allow P.T. Co. to use, forcing P.T. Co. to haul freight on wagons around the falls, a much less effective means. The P.T. company then began a rate war with the O.S.N. Achieving some success, the new company began expanding operations to the Columbia River. The P.T. Company put the ''E.D. Baker'' on the lower Columbia, the ''Iris'' on the middle, and the ''Kiyus'' on the upper Columbia.


Competition on the Columbia

In March 1863, the P.T. Company's new steamers, the ''Colonel Baker'', also known as the ''E.D. Baker'', and the ''Cayuse'', also known as the ''Kiyus'', were nearing completion, and expected to be finished by April 1. The ''Baker'', being built at Vancouver, W.T. would run under Captain Hakes, the ''Iris'' under H.M. Knighton, and ''Cayuse'' / ''Kiyus'' under Leonard White. At the same time, the steamer ''Reliance'' was said to be in a position to begin running on the Willamette River upstream from the falls. The P.T. boats posed serious competition to the O.S.N. on the Columbia, which placed the '' Wilson G. Hunt'' on the Portland-Cascades route to run against them. The ''E.D. Baker'' was considered the crack boat of the P.T. line, and one of the fastest yet placed on the Columbia, was often able to outrun ''Wilson G. Hunt'', an older sidewheeler which had been brought around
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from the east coast. Many years later, the experienced steamboat man William Polk Gray (1845-1929) recalled that the public favored the underdog, as he characterized the People's Transportation Company: In May 1863, as a result of the opposition of the P.T. Company, fares from Portland to The Dalles were reduced to $1.00. From Celilo, Oregon to
Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's North Central Idaho, north central region. It is the third-largest city in the Idaho Panhandle, northern Idaho region, behind Post Falls, Idaho, Pos ...
the fare was $5.00, running on the ''Kiyus'', then under the command of Capt. Leonard White, with two brothers Alonzo “Lon” Vickers (d.1893) and E. Vickers (b.1844) on board as engineers.


The steamer ''Enterprise'' acquired

In 1863, a new independent steamer, the ''Enterprise'', was built at Canemah by Capt. George A. Pease, backed by a company formed by Capt. Charles. W. Pope (1831-1871), Capt. Nat H. Lane, Sr. (1823-1878), C. Friendly, Judge Riley E. Stratton, C. Crawford, James Wilson, C.W. Rea, and S. Ellsworth. ''Enterprise'', the second steamer of this name to operate on the Willamette, was launched in November 1863, and ran independently for a short time under George Pease. Soon an accommodation was reached with the P.T. Company, after which Pease remained in command for over two years. In 1866, the P.T. purchased Enterprise outright from its original owners. ''Enterprise'' was highly successful financially, earning a 33.3% profit in its first year of operations, and 66.6% in the second year, with a dividend of $50 a share, When ''Enterprise'' was purchased by P.T. Co., the original owners received $280 in P.T. stock for every $100 of ''Enterprise'' stock.


Reorganization and settlement with O.S.N.

O.S.N retaliated against the P.T. Co. by placing its own boats, ''Rival'' and ''Onward'' on the Willamette. The competition had caused the P.T. Company to lose all its surplus and sustain debts of $65,000. The company reorganized as a result, with the following officers: David McCully, president and director; L.S. Parrish, vice president; Thomas McF. (McFadden) Patton (1829-1892), a lawyer, secretary and director; J.S. Parrish, John D. Biles, Edwin N. Cooke, and S.T. Church, additional directors. In about 1864 as the P.T. Company was seeking to raise funds to resolve the debt issue, O.S.N., through its banker, William S. Ladd, initiated negotiations which led to O.S.N. paying the P.T. Company $10,000 a year to confine its operations to 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 ...
. The strong performance of the P.T. Company's ''E.D. Baker'' probably induced O.S.N. to negotiate. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company also picked up People's Transportation's boats ''Iris'' and ''Kiyus'', in exchange for three OSN boats on the Willamette River, ''Onward'', ''Rival'', and ''Surprise''. With the settlement reached, passenger and freight rates on the Columbia, under complete O.S.N. domination, soon more than tripled. It took three years for the P.T. Company to be able to declare, in 1865, a dividend on their stock. In December 1863, the ''E.D. Baker'' was dismantled, with the machinery and upper works being sent to Canemah, to be used on a new hull being built there by the P.T. Company. This new vessel was the ''Reliance''. The hull of the ''Baker'', once repaired from the sinking at Oswego, would be converted into a wharfboat or a barge.


Challenge from Willamette Steam Navigation Company

Occasionally rivals on the Willamette River would arise in competition to the P.T. Company. One of the more serious challenges arose in October 1865, when the Willamette Steam Navigation Company was incorporated, with D.W. Burnside as president, Asa L. Lovejoy, vice-president, and John T. Apperson, secretary. Willamette Steam built the steamer ''Alert'' at Oswego and placed it on the run from Portland to Oregon City. The new company also built, at Canemah, the steamer ''Active'', and gained control of the upper Willamette steamer ''Echo'', which John Gates (1827-1888) and Captain Alexander P. Ankeny (1813-1891) had built at Canemah, running both on the upper Willamette against the P.T. Company. Fares dropped fast, so that a passenger could go from Portland to Oregon City for free, then on to Salem fifty cents, with meals and berth free, and then on to Albany for one dollar and to Corvallis for $1.50. Freight rates dropped to fifty cents per ton for shipments from Portland to Oregon City. The steamboats of the rival companies tested their speed against each other on a daily basis. On one occasion, the ''Active'' and the ''Reliance'', a P.T. Company boat, raced all the way from Canemah to Salem. The speed contests between ''Reliance'' and ''Active'' were remembered many years later by one old steamboat man as the “most exciting boat racing I have ever seen.” By March 1866, the competition had grown too much for both companies, and they decided to merge. The officers of the merged company were Asa A. McCully, president; S.T. Church, secretary; Joseph Kellogg, Capt. Lucien E. Pratt (1824-1899), George Anson Pease (1830-1918), and E.N. Cooke, directors. John D. Biles was the company's agent.


Construction of the boat basin at Oregon City

On August 15, 1865, the P.T. Company began construction of a boat basin at Oregon City. Once complete, the basin would bring the boats of the company, above and below the falls, to within 50 feet of each other. The dam along the falls was built of 14 inch timber frames, each six feet long, and secured into the rock of the falls by iron bolts through the frame sills. The frames were covered with three inch planks, with the overall structure about 1000 feet long, and about 12 feet high, creating a basin with a water depth of from six to eight feet in a space of about 500 feet long by 300 feet wide. The construction work was supervised for the P.T. Company by Capt. Joseph Kellogg. The work was completed on November 15, 1866, and as many as four of the company's steamers could use the basin at one time. The company was reported to have spent $100,000 building the basin and the
weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
. The company had also constructed a
weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
along the top of the falls, which had the effect of raising the water level on the river a few feet during low water, which allowed steamboat navigation to proceed. By November 1865, work had nearly been completed on a warehouse for the company at the boat basin, which would have an inclined railway allowing ready transfer of freight to and from boats on the lower and the upper river. On February 3, 1866 it was reported that a few days earlier, an employee of the P.T. Company, G.B. Daley, a
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native who had served under
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in the
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was drowned in the boat basin, on account of the swamping of a small boat that he had been in.


Monopoly on the Willamette

For ten years, O.S.N. and the P.T. Company abided by their agreement. In 1864, Capt. Joseph Kellogg merged his operations into the company, bringing in the steamer ''Senator'' which ran between Portland and Oregon City. In November 1866, the P.T. Company was running ''Senator'' out of Portland, departing daily except Sundays at 6:00 a.m. for Oregon City, where connections were made with ''Enterprise'', ''Echo'', and ''Active'', which ran on Mondays and Thursdays for Salem, Albany, and Corvallis. ''Senator'' departed Oregon City at 1:00 p.m. on the return trip to Portland. From Oregon City, the ''Union'' departed up river on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for Dayton on the Yamhill River and waypoints. Upriver from Oregon City, in November 1866, the company promised service to the following landings: Fairfield, Wheatland,
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, Salem, Eola,
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, Buena Vista, Albany, Corvallis, Peoria,
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,
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and Eugene City. In November 1866, the P.T. Company's lowest upriver freight rate (rates were slightly lower going downriver) was $2.50 per ton for freight shipped from Portland to Oregon City. Once transshipment occurred at Oregon City, freight rates increased rapidly, starting with Fairfield, at $8.90 per ton, and going up to $12 per ton for freight shipped to Albany, and $20 per ton for freight to Eugene. The company's actual transshipment costs were reported to be 11 cents a ton in early 1869. The company did promise reduced rates for wheat, flour, and apples. In December 1866, Asa Alfred McCully (1818-1886) was president of the company. Other officers, elected at the December 6, 1866 stockholders meeting in Salem, were Edwin N. Cooke, vice-president, Joseph Kelly, George A. Pease, and L.E. Pratt, directors, S.T. Church, secretary, and George Marshall, Chief Engineer. The company was reported, in December 1866, to have earned revenue of $19,000, even after paying expenses. In December 1866, under the winter shipping arrangements of the company, the steamer ''Alert'' departed Portland daily at 7:00 a.m., for Oregon City, where it connected with steamers running to points on the upper Willamette River, upstream from Willamette Falls. The ''Reliance'' ran on Mondays and Thursdays to
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; the ''Fannie Patton'' ran to the same city on Tuesdays and Fridays; the ''Active'' ran every Wednesday for
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, Lancaster, and
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; and ''Union'' ran on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for
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and Lafayette on the
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.


Criticism by Albany newspaper

By late December 1866, The People's Transportation Company achieved a monopoly over transport on the Willamette River, for which it was criticized in the ''State Rights Democrat'', of
Albany, Oregon Albany ( ) is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the 11th most populous city in the state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton count ...
, as a “heartless, soulless, monied monopoly, and true to the ancestral fame of all monopolies, they pluck the public goose while they can, because just now they have the power.” A week later, Martin H. Abbott, editor of the ''State Rights Democrat'' wrote that the freight and passenger rates ought to be reduced by at least one-half. According to the ''State Rights Democra''t, one-way passage from Albany to Portland cost $5.50, with meals and lodging included. In another December 1866 editorial, Abbott claimed that the previous year, Capt. Alexander P. Ankeny, running a boat in opposition to the P.T. Company had charged only $4.00 per ton for freight shipped from Portland to Albany, and repeated a report that Ankeny had still run at a profit. Abbott stated that
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paid annually, for freight, to the P.T. Company, $100,000 to $150,000, which, in Abbott's opinion was $75,000 to $100,000 too much, given the rates charged by Captain Ankeny the year before, According to Abbott it was “nor any wonder that men who, a few years ago, were as poor as diluted skim-milk, are now among millionaires.”


Navigation of the Tualatin River and Oswego Lake

From approximately 1866 to 1872, the P.T. Company, or its close affiliates, the Kellogg brothers (Joseph and Edward), operated steamboats, including the ''Yamhill'' and ''Onward'' on the
Tualatin River The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the ...
, running to Hillsboro and even further, to a landing about 2.5 miles from Forest Grove. In 1869, the Kelloggs, with W.S. Failing, W.D. Hare, J.M. Moore, and Capt. J.D. Merryman, organized the Tualatin River Navigation and Manufacturing Company, which, in 1869, built the small sternwheeler ''Henrietta'' at Colfax for the trade on Oswego or Sucker Lake, as it was then called. ''Henrietta'', whose hull was just 54 feet long, acted as feeder for ''Onward'' on the Tualatin. ''Onward'' in turn acted as feeder for the P.T. Company's boats on the Willamette River. In late June, 1867, the P.T. Company was building new steamers at Canemah. The dimensions of the hull of the new steamer were to be: length 126 feet 10 inches; beam 28 feet; depth of hold 3.5 feet. The builders were William Mullan and Joseph Paquet. The new vessel was intended to be a light draught boat, and was to have an appearance similar to that of the ''Reliance''. By June 29, 1867, the hull frames had been set up and planking was about to begin. At the same time, the company was preparing to build a new steamer at Colfax, on the
Tualatin River The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the ...
at about river mile 6, to run to Forest Grove. The planned steamer would have a
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length of 95 feet, 18 feet beam, and 4 foot, 4 inch depth of hold. The new steamer was reported to be based on the design of the existing steamer ''Senator''. This appears to have been the steamer ''Onward'', reported in another source to have been built in 1867 at a place called Tualatin Landing by C.F. Kent and John Colman for Joseph Kellogg. ''Onward'' operated with a crew entirely from the Kellogg family: Charles Kellogg, master; Elijah Kellogg, engineer; Orrin Kellogg, purser. In the week before December 19, 1868, the steamer ''Onward'' was able to proceed from Colfax up the Tualatin River to Forest Grove and back. Although the water was very low, and navigation was difficult, it was expected to become easier soon, and another run was planned for Saturday, December 26, 1868. Reportedly a large amount of grain had been accumulated at points along the river, waiting for higher water so it could be shipped.


Later operations

On June 30, 1867, the company was reported to have recently completed a drydock at Oregon City. The steamer ''Active'' was floated out, and the ''Echo'' floated in, and thirty-five minutes later, ''Echo'' was resting out of the water dry on the shipways. In July 1867, the P.T. Company began a project of building barges, called “lighters” to be lashed alongside its steamers on the shallow upper Willamette during the summer period of low water on the river. The plan was that by dividing the freight between the steamer and the barges, less water would be needed to float the steamer. In 1867, the People's Transportation Company advertised freight service to McMinnville at a rate of $7.00 per ton. Also in September 1867, the steamers ''Enterprise'' and ''Echo'' were reported to be able to make regular trips to Albany because navigation obstacles in the river had been removed. The P.T. Company was building a new shallow-draft steamer at Canemah in September 1867. ''Echo'' was reported to have beaten the
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a good part of the way to Salem. In January, 1868 the P.T. Company let a building contract to Joseph Paquet to build, at Canemah, a new steamer to run between Oregon City and
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on the Yamhill River, to be completed in time for the fall trade when the rivers would rise sufficiently to allow navigation. On Saturday, August 8, 1868, the new steamer was launched, and given the name ''Dayton''. The steamer ''Albany'' was also constructed in 1868, at a reported cost of $30,000, and was ready to take on the summer trade. It was said that ''Albany'', with a “fair load” of cargo, drew only 20 inches of water. A new challenge arose to the line when the steamer ''Success'' was built at Canemah for the Canemah Transportation Company, launched on July 15, and entering operations the next month, on August 11, 1868. Despite its name, the steamer was not a success financially, and February 1869, it was transferred to the P.T. Company, ending competition at that time, or “opposition” as it was then called, on the Willamette river. An annual meeting of the shareholders of the People's Transportation Company was scheduled to be held at 10:00 a.m. on December 3, 1868, at the company's office in Salem, Oregon, at which time directors for the next year were to be chosen and a reduction in the company's capital stock was to be considered. The notice for the meeting was given by the company's secretary, S.T. Church.


Projected construction of canal

For some time, the People's Transportation Company had considered whether to build a shipping canal and lock at Oregon City. The plan, however, was to build the works on the east side of Willamette Falls, rather than the west side, as eventually proved to be the case. In November 1865, the P.T. Company's engineer, Colonel Belden, was reported to have drawn up plans and prepared cost estimates for a canal and locks to run on the east side of the falls, connecting the company's newly completed boat basin with the lower river. The locks designed by Colonel Belden would have allowed the transit of boats 170 feet long, and were to be 40 feet wide and have at least 6 feet of water over the foundation component under the lock entrance, called the “miter sill.” There would be 8 feet of lift to each lock. The P.T. Company did not plan to build the locks immediately, and was waiting for a time when business demand would be sufficient to support the project. In January, 1869, further details were reported on the P.T. Company's proposed locks. According to the news report, the P.T. company intended to commence work during the coming construction season, that is, of 1869. The company contemplated building a total of five locks, four of which would be 200 feet long, and the fifth one would be a guard lock, placed at the top of the works by the boat basin, to protect against high water, floating logs and trees, and other things that could damage the lifting locks. Several contractors were then corresponding with the company about taking on the work. In March 1869, the P.T. Company was reported to be petitioning the Oregon City council for a right of way through part of the city for the canal to be built by the company. On August 17, 1869, the company was reported to have over 50 men engaged in blasting work on the canal, which was reportedly to be finished that year. According to George A. Pease, a director and major shareholder of the P.T. Company, the Willamette Falls Canal and Locks Company was organized to build locks and a canal around Willamette Falls, in opposition to the P.T. Company, which controlled the portage. The P.T. Company offered to build the locks on the Oregon City side of the falls for a $125,000 subsidy from the State of Oregon, but the offer was made too late for it to be approved by the legislature.


Sale to Ben Holladay

In January 1871, the P.T. Company's steamers carried down to Oregon City, from upriver points, 5000 tons of freight. By this time, the P.T. Company was facing new competition on the Willamette River, from the Willamette Locks & Transportation Company, which engaged in serious efforts to construct a shipping canal around the Willamette Falls, but was also running, or preparing to run, steamers against the P.T. Company. In September, 1871 the empire-building stage coach businessman
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. He created a stagecoach empire and ...
incorporated a company with the objective of acquiring the People's Transportation Company. The officers of the new company were Ben Holladay, president; Ben Holladay, Jr., vice-president; John D. Biles, secretary and treasurer, and George Pease, superintendent. Holladay wanted to acquire the P.T. Company to prevent its steamboats from completing with a railroad he was building south through the Willamette Valley, with the objective of reaching California. On September 6, 1871, the People's Transportation Company, apprehensive that the pending completion of the locks at Oregon City would bring a new challenge to its near-ten year monopoly, voted to dissolve the corporation and sell all its assets to Hollday's company, the
Oregon and California Railroad The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad ...
, for $200,000. These included the following steamers: ''Albany'', ''Alert'', ''Alice'', ''Dayton'', '' Fanny Patton'', ''Reliance'', ''Senator'', ''Shoo Fly'', and ''Success''. Of these vessels, ''Dayton'', ''Albany'', and ''Success'', operated upriver from Willamette Falls. The upriver vessels connected at Oregon City with the ''Alert'' and ''Senator'', both running to Portland. During its existence, the People's Transportation Company had spent over one million dollars for steamboats, docks, and improvement.


Steamers owned by the line

All boats were wooden sternwheelers, except ''Iris'' and ''Yamhill'', which were sidewheelers. This list includes boats operated by the Tualatin River Navigation and Manufacturing Company. * ''Active'', built 1865 at Canemah by John T. Apperson for the Willamette Steam Navigation Company. Transferred to the Oregon Steamship Co. (Ben Holladay) in 1871, dismantled 1872 at Canemah. * ''Albany'', built 1868 at Canemah for the P.T. Company, transferred 1871 to the Oregon Steamship Company, wrecked 1875 at the Long Tom bar. * ''Alert'', built 1865 at Oswego by Louis Paquet for the Willamette Steam Navigation Company, Remembered as “the trimmest and fastest of the P.T. fleet.”, transferred 1871 to Oregon Steamship Co., may have been later rebuilt as ''E.N. Cooke''. * ''Alice'', built 1871, but not completed before P.T. Company sold to Ben Holladay. Dismantled in 1888 at Portland. * ''Dayton'', built 1868 at Canemah by Joseph Paquet for the P.T. Company, engines from ''Rival''. Dismantled 1881, engines to ''Joseph Kellogg''. * ''Echo'', built 1865 at Canemah by John Gates and Capt. Ankeny. * ''E.D. Baker''. Sternwheeler built 1862 at Vancouver, W.T. for the P.T. Company. Named after U.S. Senator from Oregon Edward D. Baker, and sometimes referred to as the ''Colonel Baker''. This boat was worn out running in competition with O.S.N’s sidewheeler ''New World'', and as a result of that, plus a sinking near Oswego, it was dismantled with the components going into the steamer ''Reliance''. * ''Enterprise'', built 1863 by George A. Pease. Dismantled at Canemah in 1875. * '' Fannie Patton'', built 1865 at Canemah by John T. Thomas, with engines from ''Onward''. Named after the daughter of Edwin N Cook, Frances Mary “Fannie” Cooke (1837-1886), who married Thomas McFadden Patton in 1854. The steamer was rebuilt in 1874, and in 1880 converted to a barge. * ''Henrietta'', built 1869 by Orin Kellogg, worked in the Sucker Lake (as
Oswego Lake Oswego Lake is in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, and is completely surrounded by the city of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Lake Oswego. Though the lake is naturally occurring (a former channel of the Tualatin River), it has been significantly al ...
was then known) trade for the Kelloggs, dismantled 1879 at Portland. * ''Iris''. Sidewheeler, built 1863 for the P.T. Company at
The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles ( ;) formally the City of the Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port, the county seat of and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 United ...
by John D. Biles, ran against O.S.N. sidewheeler
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
until the rate war was settled, when it was transferred to the O.S.N. Dismantled 1870 at The Dalles. * ''James Clinton''. First boat of the line, built 1856, first steamer, on March 12, 1857, to reach Eugene City, destroyed at
Linn City, Oregon Linn City was a community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, that existed from 1843 to 1861 and was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862. The former site of Linn City was incorporated into the city of West Linn. History Robert Moore fou ...
on night of April 23/24,1861, by fire on wharf that spread to the steamer. * '' Kiyus'', built 1863 at Celilo. This vessel, sometimes called “''Cayuse''” was captained by Leonard White, who believed in phonetic spelling; one of his earlier commands had been ''Fenix'', his spelling of Phoenix. ''Kiyus'' was wrecked at Lyle, W.T., in 1866. * ''Onward'', built 1858 at Canemah for A. Jamieson, later came under control of O.S.N. Transferred to P.T. Company as part of 1864 settlement, dismantled 1865 at Canemah. Engines to ''Fannie Patton''. (Not to be confused with later ''Onward'' built 1867.) * ''Onward'', built 1867 at Tualatin Landing, possibly the same place as Colfax, about river mile 6.0 on the Tualatin. Probably the same vessel described as being planned, in June 1867, to be built at Colfax for the Forest Grove trade. * ''Reliance'', built 1865 at Canemah by Allison Lambert for the P.T. Company. Remember as the “most palatial” of any steamer then on the Willamette. Dismantled 1871 at Canemah. * ''Relief'', built 1858 at Oregon City for Cassidy & Co. Dismantled 1865 at Canemah. * ''Rival''. Sternwheeler built 1860 at Portland for Pease and Dement, transferred from O.S.N. to P.T. Company as part of 1864 settlement, dismantled 1868 at Portland, engines to steamer ''Dayton''. * ''Senator'', built 1864 at
Milwaukie, Oregon Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah County. The population was 21,119 at the 2020 United States Census, ...
by John T. Thomas for the P.T. Company, using engines from the steamer ''Surprise'', destroyed by boiler explosion in 1875 while docked at Portland. * ''Shoo Fly'', built 1870 at Canemah by Joseph Paquet for the P.T. Company, dismantled 1878. * ''Skedaddle''. Sternwheel barge built 1862. by George A. Pease. A small vessel (60 feet long), used from October to November 1864, during low water, to run between Oregon City and
Clackamas, Oregon Clackamas ( ) is an unincorporated community and former census-designated place (CDP) in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, and is a suburb of Portland. The population was approximately 7,000 . Clackamas is home to Camp Withycombe, whi ...
. Dismantled 1869 at Portland. * ''Success'', built 1868 at Canemah by John T. Thomas for Capt. E.W. Baughman, of the Canemah Transportation Company, an independent line, transferred to P.T. Company by February 1869, dismantled, 1877, at Oregon City. * ''Unio'' / ''Union'', built 1861 at Canemah as "''Unio''", by John T. Apperson, later sold to James D. Miller, renamed "''Union''", then to Willamette Steam Navigation Company, transferred to P.T. Company ownership with merger of W.S.N. and P.T. Co., dismantled 1869, engines to
Umpqua River The Umpqua River ( ) on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west ...
steamer ''Swan''. * ''Yamhill''. Sidewheeler. As of February 1867, this steamer made regular trips on the
Tualatin River The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the ...
as far as
Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...
under Capt. Edward Kellogg, brother of Joseph Kellogg. ''Yamhill'' had a hinged smokestack to allow it to be folded down on the deck to pass under bridges along the way.


Historical records

Shipping bills and cargo manifests of the People's Transportation Company are held at the archives of the University of Oregon.


Notes


References


Books

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Newspaper collections

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Other sources

* {{Columbia River Steamboats Steamboats of the Willamette River Steamboats of the Columbia River Defunct transportation companies of the United States Transport companies established in 1861 Transport companies disestablished in 1871 1861 establishments in Oregon 1871 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct companies based in Oregon Transportation companies based in Oregon