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Bailey Gatzert (sternwheeler)
Encyclopedia
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The Bailey Gatzert was a famous sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Columbia River
and Puget Sound
from the 1890s to the 1920s. She was named after Bailey Gatzert
, an early businessman and mayor of Seattle. She was commonly called "the Bailey, or reputedly, by those rivermen who did not appreciate her large wake, the Daily Bastard.
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The Bailey Gatzert was built at Ballard, Washington in 1890 by John J. Holland
for W.K. Struve and associates. Her dimensions as originally built were 177' long, 32.2' wide, and 8' depth-of-hold, and rated at 560 tons capacity. She was launched sidewise and fully ready to steam. Immediately after launching, she was taken to Tacoma and back to Seattle on her first voyage. A handsome budget was utilized for her interior design, which was supervised by a British artist named Harnett.
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After her launch in 1890, her owners placed Bailey Gatzert on on the run from Seattle to Tacoma and Olympia
. One of her few rivals for speed on this route was the side-wheeler T.J. Potter. In 1892, the Bailey was bought by the Columbia River & Puget Sound Navigation Company, and transferred to the Columbia river, where she ran on the Portland
-Astoria
route, and, later, from Portland to The Dalles, on passenger runs and excursions. She was a popular boat during the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition, making two runs a day between Portland and Cascade Locks, and a musical piece, the Bailey Gatzert March, was composed in honor of the vessel.
She could travel from The Dalles to Portland in just over five hours. She was reputedly called the Daily Bastard by those hit by the large wakes she caused, though the tale is not verified.
in Seattle. She was widened ("sponsoned out") and fitted with an elevator to load and unload automobiles, thus becoming the first automobile ferry on the Seattle-Bremerton route. The vessel then carried about 25 cars.
The Bailey Gatzert ran three daily round-trips and four on weekends, with R.B Holbrook as her first captain. Later, Captain Wallace Mangan, of the H.B. Kennedy, took his place. When Mangan was assigned back to the Kennedy, Harry Anderson took over as captain of the Bailey Gatzert, becoming the youngest master of the Navy Yard line. (Anderson later went on to become the operating manager of the Washington State ferry system.)
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The Bailey Gatzert was a famous sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
from the 1890s to the 1920s. She was named after Bailey Gatzert
Bailey Gatzert
Bailey Gatzert was the eighth mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving from 1875 to 1876. He was the first Jewish mayor of Seattle, narrowly missing being the first Jewish mayor of a major American city , and has been the only Jewish mayor of Seattle to date.Gatzert was born in 1829 in Darmstadt,...
, an early businessman and mayor of Seattle. She was commonly called "the Bailey, or reputedly, by those rivermen who did not appreciate her large wake, the Daily Bastard.
Design and construction
John J. Holland (shipbuilder)
John Holland was a shipbuilder in Seattle, Washington in the late 19th century. Among the vessels built at his yard was the sternwheel steamboat Fairhaven in 1889., and, in 1890, the famous sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert.-References:...
for W.K. Struve and associates. Her dimensions as originally built were 177' long, 32.2' wide, and 8' depth-of-hold, and rated at 560 tons capacity. She was launched sidewise and fully ready to steam. Immediately after launching, she was taken to Tacoma and back to Seattle on her first voyage. A handsome budget was utilized for her interior design, which was supervised by a British artist named Harnett.
Operating history
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. One of her few rivals for speed on this route was the side-wheeler T.J. Potter. In 1892, the Bailey was bought by the Columbia River & Puget Sound Navigation Company, and transferred to the Columbia river, where she ran on the Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
-Astoria
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
route, and, later, from Portland to The Dalles, on passenger runs and excursions. She was a popular boat during the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition, making two runs a day between Portland and Cascade Locks, and a musical piece, the Bailey Gatzert March, was composed in honor of the vessel.
She could travel from The Dalles to Portland in just over five hours. She was reputedly called the Daily Bastard by those hit by the large wakes she caused, though the tale is not verified.
First reconstruction in 1907
In 1907, the Bailey was rebuilt with a stronger and heavier hull, and engines from the dismantled Telephone, herself once considered a crack steamboat on the Columbia river. As rebuilt, the Bailey's dimensions were 194.3' long, 32.8' beam, 8' depth of hold, and rated at 878 tons. The Bailey had also acquired the Telephones steam five-tone chime whistle.Operations after first reconstruction
Bailey Gatzert continued to operate on the Columbia River, becoming well known as an excursion boat, under the ownership of The Dalles, Portland, and Astoria Navigation Company. After about 1915, the steamboat trade on the Columbia fell off sharply. In 1917, the Navy Yard Route, an affiliate of the Puget Sound Navigation Company, bought her and returned her to Puget Sound under tow for use on the Seattle-Bremerton route, which was then booming because of war-related ship construction. The Bailey Gatzert began service again in Puget Sound on April 18, 1918.Conversion to automobile ferry
In 1920, Bailey Gatzert was converted to an automobile ferry at Todd ShipyardsTodd Shipyards
Todd Shipyards was an American soccer club based in Brooklyn, New York that was an inaugural member of the American Soccer League. The team was formed when the Todd Shipyard company decided to merge the Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock with Tebo Yacht Basin F.C....
in Seattle. She was widened ("sponsoned out") and fitted with an elevator to load and unload automobiles, thus becoming the first automobile ferry on the Seattle-Bremerton route. The vessel then carried about 25 cars.
The Bailey Gatzert ran three daily round-trips and four on weekends, with R.B Holbrook as her first captain. Later, Captain Wallace Mangan, of the H.B. Kennedy, took his place. When Mangan was assigned back to the Kennedy, Harry Anderson took over as captain of the Bailey Gatzert, becoming the youngest master of the Navy Yard line. (Anderson later went on to become the operating manager of the Washington State ferry system.)
Final disposition
Bailey Gatzert was taken out of service in 1926, and her hull was converted to a floating machine shop in Lake Union. Her nameboard and whistle were preserved however, at a museum in Seattle.Depiction on postage stamp
In 1996, the Bailey Gatzert was honored by being depicted on a U.S. postage stamp.Photographs
- Bailey Gatzert at a landing (old tinted postcard) This image shows how even the largest sternwheeler could make a landing any almost any bank along the river. Sidewheelers required docks, which made them undesirable and very few were built after about 1865.
- Bailey Gatzert in Cascade Locks This photograph shows clearly the details of the steamer. It is (misdated as 1926; it cannot be later than 1917, the latest date the steamer was on the Columbia River.