Quickstep was a steamboat that operated from 1877 to 1897 in coastal, inland waters and rivers of the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

. This vessel should not be confused with a number of other vessels with the same name, some of which operated in the same area about the same time.

Career

Quickstep was built at 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...

 and completed in 1877. The vessel ran on the lower Columbia River for some time. There were many owners and operators of Quickstep and the vessel was run on many different routes.

In July 1883, Quickstep, under Capt. Thomas Doig, was brought north from the Columbia River to 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...

. Apparently Quickstep had been returned to the Columbia River after that, as it is reported that about 1885, under Capt. George A. Whitcomb (1854-1939), a member of a prominent maritime family, the vessel was running between Astoria and Grays Harbor.

Quickstep is reported to have been transferred to Puget Sound in 1887, or as early as 1885, by being purchased by Capt. J.J. Hansen (later to form Hansen Transportation Company, who had moved from Minnesota to Tacoma, and decided to enter the steamboat business, with Quickstep being his first vessel..

For a short time in the early 1890s, Quickstep is reported to have been operated by Matthew McDowell

Matthew McDowell (steamboat captain)

Matthew McDowell was a steamboat owner and builder associated with the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.-Background:McDowell was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and left home at age 15 to work as a coal passer for steamers of the Anchor Line. He had three sons and one daughter, all of whom were associated...

 for towing operations in the Tacoma area. There is also a report that Quickstep was sold by the Hansens in 1893 so they could replace it with a newer vessel, the Hattie Hansen.

In 1894, Capt. Charles F. Kraft (b.1831) bought Quickstep and brought the vessel to Lake Washington

Lake Washington

Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and...

. In 1896, Capt. John L. Anderson bought Quickstep for $1,600 as a replacement for his steamer Winnifred, which had burned in early 1896.

Loss by fire

In 1897 Quickstep in turn was lost by fire. Anderson was able to salvage the machinery and install it in a new steamer which he built himself, Lady of the Lake

Lady of the Lake (steamboat)

Lady of the Lake was a wooden steamboat that operated on Puget Sound from 1897 to 1903. Following a fire in 1903, the vessel was rebuilt as the tug Ruth.- Career:...

and launched in 1897.