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Colonel Wright (sternwheeler)
Encyclopedia
The Colonel Wright was the first steamboat
to operate on the Columbia River
above The Dalles in the parts of the Oregon Country
that later became the U.S. states of Oregon
, Washington and Idaho
. She was the first steamboat to run on the Snake River
. She was named after Colonel (later General) George Wright
, an army commander in the Indian Wars in the Oregon Country in the 1850s. She was generally called the Wright during her operating career.
, Idaho and eastern Oregon, and in consequence, she made a fortune for her owners before others could interfere with the trade. Her profit potential was greatly enhanced by the discovery of gold in Idaho in the spring of 1859.
She was built by R. R. Thompson and E. F. Coe, who had Government transport contracts on the middle and upper Columbia River. They had been carrying freight for Fort Walla Walla from Celilo in bateau
x at a rate of $100 per ton. Colonel Jordan, the chief quartermaster, encouraged them to construct the steamer. When she was completed they reduced the rates to $80 and made three round trips a week throughout the summer, taking full loads both ways and quickly growing rich. The Colonel Wright made her first trip in April 1859. The Colonel Wright was first commanded by Capt. Leonard White, with Capt. Ephraim W. Baughman (1835–1923), pilot.
Captain White was a veteran of navigation on the upper Willamette River
, and later became known as one of the most intrepid of all steamboat captains. When he was first assigned to the Wright, Captain White hung a square sail on the steamboat as a precaution in case of mechanical failure. When he took the Wright on her first trip up the Snake River, and when she hit a snag near the mouth of the Palouse River, she almost sank before Captain White could beach her. Bailed out and repaired, the Colonel Wright was able to continue her journey. White received a salary of $500 per month, a huge amount of money for the time, and retained the position for several years.
. The portage route ended at Celilo, Oregon where the "upper Columbia" began. Steamboats could run from Celilo to Wallula where a stage line, and later a railroad ran to Walla Walla
, then the principal settlement in the Inland Empire. It was this, the upper step of the river, on which the Colonel Wright enjoyed a monopoly for a short time as the sole steamboat on the river.
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Downriver transport could be quite fast for the day. A traveler bound from Walla Walla would take the stage to Wallula, board the Colonel Wright or another steamer, then head downriver to Celilo. After a bumpy ride over the portage, the traveler would arrive at The Dalles where an overnight stay would be necessary at one of the hotels. The next morning the traveler would board a steamboat on the middle river, perhaps the Oneonta
, for a morning run down to the Upper Cascades. There again the traveler disembarked, usually on the favored north side, and rode on the portage railway to the landing at the Lower Cascades. There, a steamer, possibly the Wilson G. Hunt
, then ran downriver to Portland
, which the traveler reached some thirty hours after leaving Walla Walla, a feat which was considered remarkable at that time. The genius of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
was to control all the boats on all the steps of the staircase, and the portage
s too, thus achieving a monopoly on transport in the days before there were roads or railways capable of mounting any competition. The Wright was simply superb at making money, earning as much as $2,500 a trip in passenger fares alone.
, which joins the Columbia not far to the north of Wallula. Colonel Wright was the first steamboat to reach Lewiston, Idaho
, 140 miles upriver from Wallula. In 1861 she ascended the Clearwater River
to within two miles of the forks, accomplishing the downstream run of over 300 miles to Wallula in less than 24 hours. Thompson and Coe made so much money with the Wright that in the spring of 1860 they built a larger and more powerful steamer, the Tenino
on the same route, afterward pooling both steamers with the Oregon Steam Navigation Company.
, on a trip to Lewiston, where she waited for a few days for the ice to clear upriver. In the words of Fritz Timmen, she was
, concluded that Captain White's remuneration was excessive for a steamboat master. Captain White did not agree, refused to take a pay cut, and hence was succeeded by Capt. Thomas Stump, from the Sacramento River, at a salary of $300 per month. Coe, Felton, and J. H. D. Gray also had charge of the steamer at different times.
in less than five hours. Captain Stump reported his explorations as having been of no practical value; but he had taken a steamer farther into the heart of the regions lying to the east than any craft had ever gone before.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
to operate 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...
above The Dalles in the parts of the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
that later became the U.S. states of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Washington and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. She was the first steamboat to run on the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
. She was named after Colonel (later General) George Wright
George Wright (general)
George Wright was an American soldier who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
, an army commander in the Indian Wars in the Oregon Country in the 1850s. She was generally called the Wright during her operating career.
Construction and operations
The Colonel Wright was launched October 24, 1858 at the mouth of the Deschutes River and began to run in early in 1859. The Colonel Wright was 110 ft (34 m) long, 21 ft (6 m) beam, and had 5 ft (2 m) depth of hold. The launching of the Colonel Wright was an important step in the settlement of the Inland EmpireInland Empire (Pacific Northwest)
thumb|The Inland Empire regionThe Inland Northwest, or Inland Empire, is a region in the Pacific Northwest centered on Spokane, Washington, including the surrounding Columbia River basin and all of North Idaho....
, Idaho and eastern Oregon, and in consequence, she made a fortune for her owners before others could interfere with the trade. Her profit potential was greatly enhanced by the discovery of gold in Idaho in the spring of 1859.
She was built by R. R. Thompson and E. F. Coe, who had Government transport contracts on the middle and upper Columbia River. They had been carrying freight for Fort Walla Walla from Celilo in bateau
Bateau
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes...
x at a rate of $100 per ton. Colonel Jordan, the chief quartermaster, encouraged them to construct the steamer. When she was completed they reduced the rates to $80 and made three round trips a week throughout the summer, taking full loads both ways and quickly growing rich. The Colonel Wright made her first trip in April 1859. The Colonel Wright was first commanded by Capt. Leonard White, with Capt. Ephraim W. Baughman (1835–1923), pilot.
Captain White was a veteran of navigation on the upper Willamette River
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...
, and later became known as one of the most intrepid of all steamboat captains. When he was first assigned to the Wright, Captain White hung a square sail on the steamboat as a precaution in case of mechanical failure. When he took the Wright on her first trip up the Snake River, and when she hit a snag near the mouth of the Palouse River, she almost sank before Captain White could beach her. Bailed out and repaired, the Colonel Wright was able to continue her journey. White received a salary of $500 per month, a huge amount of money for the time, and retained the position for several years.
Top step on the giant staircase
Transportation up the Columbia River was like traversing a giant staircase, and the Colonel Wright was the first boat to run on the top step. This of course was the key to her money-making ability. The Columbia was never freely navigable in its natural state. There were many barriers of shallow water and rapids, the most important of which for navigation purposes were the Cascades of the Columbia in the Columbia Gorge, followed by a navigable run to the east known as the "middle Columbia" which terminated at The Dalles. A long portage there began around a series of rapids, generally known by the name of the most important one, which was Celilo FallsCelilo Falls
Celilo Falls was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington...
. The portage route ended at Celilo, Oregon where the "upper Columbia" began. Steamboats could run from Celilo to Wallula where a stage line, and later a railroad ran to Walla Walla
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
, then the principal settlement in the Inland Empire. It was this, the upper step of the river, on which the Colonel Wright enjoyed a monopoly for a short time as the sole steamboat on the river.
Oneonta (sidewheeler)
The Oneonta was a sidewheel steamboat that operated on the Columbia River from 1863 to 1877.-Design:Oneonta was one of the rare examples of a Mississippi-style riverboat built on the Columbia River...
, for a morning run down to the Upper Cascades. There again the traveler disembarked, usually on the favored north side, and rode on the portage railway to the landing at the Lower Cascades. There, a steamer, possibly the Wilson G. Hunt
Wilson G. Hunt (sidewheeler)
Wilson G. Hunt was a steamboat that ran in the early days of steam navigation on Puget Sound and Sacramento, Fraser, and Columbia Rivers. She was generally known as the Hunt during her years of operation. She had a long career on the west coast of the United States and Canada, and played an...
, then ran downriver to 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...
, which the traveler reached some thirty hours after leaving Walla Walla, a feat which was considered remarkable at that time. The genius of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Oregon Steam Navigation Company
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen...
was to control all the boats on all the steps of the staircase, and the portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
s too, thus achieving a monopoly on transport in the days before there were roads or railways capable of mounting any competition. The Wright was simply superb at making money, earning as much as $2,500 a trip in passenger fares alone.
Inland exploration
In May 1859, Colonel Wright made a scouting trip fifty miles up the Snake RiverSnake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
, which joins the Columbia not far to the north of Wallula. Colonel Wright was the first steamboat to reach Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
, 140 miles upriver from Wallula. In 1861 she ascended the Clearwater River
Clearwater River (Idaho)
The Clearwater River is a river in north central Idaho, which flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe...
to within two miles of the forks, accomplishing the downstream run of over 300 miles to Wallula in less than 24 hours. Thompson and Coe made so much money with the Wright that in the spring of 1860 they built a larger and more powerful steamer, the Tenino
Tenino (sternwheeler)
The Tenino was the second steamboat to run on the Columbia River above Celilo Falls and on the Snake River. Following a reconstruction or major salvage in 1876 this vessel was named the New Tenino.-Design and Construction:...
on the same route, afterward pooling both steamers with the Oregon Steam Navigation Company.
Dance hall transport
In the spring of 1862, the Colonel Wright was engaged in the transport of a somewhat unusual kind, and had reached the wharf at Fort Walla Walla, near Wallula and the mouth of the Walla Walla RiverWalla Walla River
The Walla Walla River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining the Columbia just above Wallula Gap in southeastern Washington in the United States. The river flows through Umatilla County, Oregon and Walla Walla County, Washington. Its drainage basin is in area.-Course:The headwaters of the...
, on a trip to Lewiston, where she waited for a few days for the ice to clear upriver. In the words of Fritz Timmen, she was
Captain White relieved of command
About 1863, after Wright came under control of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, the firm's president, Capt. John C. AinsworthJohn C. Ainsworth
John Commingers Ainsworth was an American pioneer businessman and steamboat owner in Oregon. A native of Ohio, he moved west to mine gold in California before immigrating to Oregon where he piloted steamships and became a founder of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and several banks.-Early...
, concluded that Captain White's remuneration was excessive for a steamboat master. Captain White did not agree, refused to take a pay cut, and hence was succeeded by Capt. Thomas Stump, from the Sacramento River, at a salary of $300 per month. Coe, Felton, and J. H. D. Gray also had charge of the steamer at different times.
Captain Stump takes the Wright far up the Snake River
Wright made her last trip in the spring of 1865, in command of Capt. Thomas Stump, with Capt. William Gray as pilot, who attempted to take her above the Snake River rapids to Farewell Bend. She was eight days in making a distance of about 100 miles, then headed down stream and returned to LewistonLewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
in less than five hours. Captain Stump reported his explorations as having been of no practical value; but he had taken a steamer farther into the heart of the regions lying to the east than any craft had ever gone before.
Dismantled in 1865
In August 1865, the Colonel Wrights hull, worn out from the upriver trips, was dismantled.External links
- Swantes, Carlos A., Upriver by Steamer to Idaho --Reflections on the Evolution of a Water Highway, 14 Columbia Magazine, No. 1, Washington Historical Society (Spring 2000) An excellent description of the first voyage of the Colonel Wright up the Snake River and later use of the river for steam navigation.