SS California (1848) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The SS California was one of the first steamships, to steam in the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

and the first steamship to travel from Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. She was built for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company

Pacific Mail Steamship Company

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...

which was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company in the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland. She was built as the first of three steamboats specified in a government mail contract to provide mail, passenger, and freight service from Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

to and from San Francisco and Oregon

History of Oregon

The history of Oregon, a U.S. state, may be considered in five eras: geologic history, inhabitation by native peoples, early exploration by Europeans , settlement by pioneers, and modern development....

.

In the first decades of the Federal government's existence it was not believed by a majority in Congress that the Federal Government had the power or authority to build roads, canals or other internal improvements--the U.S. Constitution did not specify this as a legitimate Federal Government role. Internal infrastructure improvements were thought to be the responsibility of private enterprise or the states. One way around this prohibition was to heavily subsidize mail contracts since this was recognized as a legitimate Federal government role. Since most of the Federal government's income then (about 89%) was in the form on excise taxes (also called Custom duties or Ad Valorem taxes of about 25%) on imports there was only a limited amount of money available.

Prior to 1848 Congress had already appropriated money to help subsidize mail steamers between Europe and United States. A Congressional mail contract from East Coast cities and New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

to and from the Chagres River

Chagres River

The Chagres River is a river in central Panama. The central part of the river is dammed by the Gatun Dam and forms Gatun Lake, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal. Upstream lies the Madden Dam, creating the Alajuala Lake that is also part of the Canal water system...

in Panama was won by the U.S. Mail Steamship Company

U.S. Mail Steamship Company

U.S. Mail Steamship Company was a company formed in 1848 by George Law, Marshall O. Roberts and Bowes R. McIlvaine to assume the contract to carry the U. S. mails from New York, with stops in New Orleans and Havana, to the Isthmus of Panama for delivery in California...

in about 1847. The Charges river was the Atlantic terminus of the trans-Isthmus trail across the Isthmus of Panama

Isthmus of Panama

The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...

. After disembarking from their paddle steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

by small boats travelers ascended the Chagres River about 30 miles (48.3 km) by native canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

s before switching to mule

Mule

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...

s to complete the about 60 miles (96.6 km) journey. The U.S. Mail Steamship Company

U.S. Mail Steamship Company

first paddle steamer

Paddle steamer

, the SS Falcon was dispatched on December 1, 1848.

The SS California was built as the first steamship specified in a mail contract (of about $199,000) set up by the U.S. Congress in 1847 to establish mail, passenger and freight service to the newly acquired territories of Oregon

History of Oregon

and California

History of California

The history of California can be divided into several periods: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1848; and United States statehood, which continues to the present day...

. These subsidies were for three steamships to regularly (roughly every two weeks) steam from Oregon and California to and from Panama City

Panama City

Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...

. Panama City was the Pacific terminus of the trans-Isthmus trail across the Isthmus of Panama

Isthmus of Panama

. The contract for the ship was given to William H. Webb

William H. Webb

William Henry Webb was a 19th-century New York shipbuilder and philanthropist, who has been called America's first true naval architect....

, of New York City in 1848--a well known builder of Clipper ships

Clipper ships

At the 'crest of the clipper wave' year of 1852, there were 200 clippers rounding Cape Horn.Notable examples of the clipper ship include:* Archibald Russell, 1905, a steel-hulled 4-masted barque, 291.3 ft. x 43 ft. x 24 ft., built by Scott Shipbuilding and Engineering Co of Greenock...

. The designs for ocean going steamboat

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...

s had already been worked out for regularly scheduled packet

Packet ship

A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers...

steamships already crossing the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

between Le Havre, France, Liverpool, England and New York City

History of New York City

The history of New York, New York begins with the first European documentation of the area by Giovanni da Verrazzano, in command of the French ship, La Dauphine, when he visited the region in 1524. It is believed he sailed in Upper New York Bay where he encountered native Lenape, returned through...

, Boston, Massachusetts etc. Steamship designs were well advanced in the United States but were temporarily put aside in a lot of shipyard

Shipyard

Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

s to build the new very fast Clipper ships. The SS California was 203 feet (61.9 m) in length, 33.5 feet (10.2 m) in beam, 20 feet (6.1 m) in depth, drew 14 feet (4.3 m) of water and had 1,057 gross tons capacity rating. She had 2 decks, 3 masts, a round stern, with a normal capacity of about 210 passengers. On January 4, 1848, SS Californias keel was laid down at New York, to be launched four months later. She cost $200,082 to build.

The SS California was built of choice oak and cedar, with her hull reinforced with diagonal iron straps to better withstand the pounding of her paddle wheels. Her hull was a modified version of the Clipper

Clipper

A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...

ship hulls then becoming popular. She was rigged with three masts and sails, and classed as a brigantine sailing ship

Sailing ship

The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...

. The wind was meant to be only an auxiliary or emergency source of power and she was expected to carry a head of steam at nearly all times while underway. The California was a steamboat

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...

with two 26 feet (7.9 m) diameter side paddle wheel

Paddle steamer

s driven by a large one-cylinder side-lever engine

Marine steam engine

A marine steam engine is a reciprocating steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. Steam turbines and diesel engines largely replaced reciprocating steam engines in marine applications during the 20th century, so this article describes the more common types of marine steam engine in use...

built by Novelty Iron Works of New York City. The engine's bore was about 75 inches (190.5 cm) in diameter with a stroke of 8 feet (2.4 m). The engine turned the two side paddle wheel

Paddle steamer

s at about 13 revolutions per minute driving the ship at about 8 knots per hour with 14 knots per hour possible under good conditions. A regular sailing ship

Sailing ship

typically made 4-5 knots per hour and a Clipper ship averaged about 6-7 knots per hour. Clipper ships under optimum sailing conditions could do 15-20 knots per hour. A Clipper ship, Champion of the Seas established a record 465 nautical miles in 24 hours and the Flying Cloud ship set the world's sailing record for the fastest passage between New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

and San Francisco around Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

, 89 days 8 hours. She held this record for over 130 years, from 1854-1989.

.

A side-lever engine was a rugged but inefficient early steam engine

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

design soon replaced with better and more efficient engines. Like all engines, the side-lever engine required lubrication. Piston-Cylinder lubrication was provided by allowing the steam to pick up a small amount of oil before being injected into the cylinder. Some type of oil cups were used on all the other moving parts. The lubricant used then was some form of whale oil

Whale oil

Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...

--the main lubricant of the period. The maintenance schedule is unknown. She was driven by about 10 psi steam generated by two return-flue boilers that used salt water for steam and coal as her fuel. Since steamships required from 5 to 10 tons of coal per day, they were more expensive to run and had a maximum range of about 3000 miles (4,828 km) before needing re-fueling. The coal was fed to the boilers by twelve firemen--shoveling by hand around the clock. She was launched May 19, 1848.

The SS California left New York City

History of New York City

on 6 October 1848 with only a partial load of her about 60 saloon (about $300 fare) and 150 steerage (about $150 fare) passenger capacity. Her crew numbered about 36 more. She left New York well before word of the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

had reached the East Coast. The route they would take was the Straits of Magellan (Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

) route around the southern end of South American. She stopped in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

(Brazil) (in record time of 24 days from New York) for engine repairs more coal, fresh water, wood and fresh fruits and vegetables and other supplies. After traversing the Straits of Magellan she stopped at Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

; Callao

Callao

Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

(just outside of Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

) and Paita

Paita

Paita is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Paita Province which is in the Piura Region. It is a leading seaport in that region...

, Peru

Peru

for more coal, fresh water, wood and fresh fruits and vegetables. These coal supplies had been previously shipped to the various ports by sailing ship

Sailing ship

s that had left earlier.

As word of the Gold rush spread she started picking up more passengers. At Valparaíso

Valparaíso

she filled most of her remaining berths. As word got back to East Coast about the California Gold Strike

California Gold Rush

and the estimated time of arrival of the SS California at Panama City

Panama City

there was a rush on to get to Panama

Panama

to catch the SS California to get to California. When the SS California arrived at Panama City 17 January 1849 there were many more passengers than there was room. She loaded up with coal, fresh water, fruit, vegetables and extra passengers that were jammed on board and she proceeded towards San Francisco with about 400 passengers; but many more were left behind to find their way later. On the way to San Francisco low coal supplies required her to put in to San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

and Monterey, California

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

to get wood to feed her boilers--engines then were simple enough to burn either coal or wood. The combination of a larger load and the southbound California Current

California Current

The California Current is a Pacific Ocean current that moves south along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia, and ending off southern Baja California. There are five major coastal currents affiliated with upwelling zones...

required more coal than she had picked up in Panama. As the first steamship on the Panama to San Francisco route she had no prior experience or fuel consumption information to follow.

Shortly after arriving in San Francisco most of her crew jumped ship and deserted the SS California. It took the Captain two months to rehire a new crew, get more coal and steam back to Panama. The California left San Francisco on 1 May 1849 with the California Mail, passengers and high value cargo as specified in the Congressional mail contract and arrived off Panama City 23 May 1849. The new crew was much more expensive but the Panama City to and from San Francisco route was so potentially lucrative that this was simply included in the price of the ticket. The mail, passengers and priority cargo to and from California soon developed into a paying proposition as more and more mail, cargo and passengers flowed to and from California. As some of the early miners started returning to San Francisco with the gold they had found many bought tickets to return to the East Coast via Panama (the fastest and most popular return route) and there was soon a lucrative scheduled steamships running to and from Panama City. Most of the gold found in California was eventually exported back to the East Coast over the Panama route. Well guarded gold shipments regularly went to Panama, took a well escorted mule and canoe trip to the mouth of Chagres River

Chagres River

where they caught another steamship to the East Coast--usually New York City. As the Panama Railroad was being constructed passengers, gold shipments, mail, etc. took advantage of its track as it crawled across Panama. These shipments and passengers helped pay for its construction and after it was built made its 47 miles (75.6 km) of track some of the most lucrative in the world.

The first three steamships constructed for Pacific Mail for service in the Pacific were the SS California (1848), the (1848) and the . The (1848) was launched on August 5, 1848 by Smith & Dimon, New York and sailed from New York for San Francisco on December 8, 1848, calling at Panama City and arriving at San Francisco on April 1, 1849. The SS Oregon was used regularly on the San Francisco to Panama City route until 1855. The SS Panama (1848) was launched on July 29, 1848. She sailed from New York on February 15, 1849 and arrived San Francisco on June 4. The trip from Panama City to San Francisco normally took about 17 days with slightly less time to go from San Francisco to Panama City. As more steamers became available a regular schedule for mail, passengers and cargo was a trip about every ten days to and from Panama City.

As the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

continued the very lucrative San Francisco to Panama City route soon needed more and larger paddle steamers--ten more were eventually put into service. The SS California was soon dwarfed by much larger ships built to carry more passengers and freight to and from California. She operated regularly between San Francisco and Panama from 1849 to 1854, then was put to use as a spare steamer in 1856. In 1875 she was converted into a sailing ship and her engine removed. Rigged as a bark

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

, she was engaged in hauling coal-and-lumber until she wrecked near Pacasmayo Province

Pacasmayo Province

The Pacasmayo Province is one of twelve provinces of the La Libertad Region in Peru; also Pacasmayo is the name of one of its districts. The capital of this province is the city of San Pedro de Lloc.-Political division:...

Peru

in 1895.

Starting in 1851 William H. Aspinwall and associates started constructing the Panama Railroad across Panama. This route stated in a town called Aspinwall (now called Colon

Colón, Panama

Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....

Panama) as its Atlantic terminus. The Pacific terminus was Panama City

Panama City

and tracks were laid in both directions. This route was completed when the tracks met in January 1855 at a cost of about 5,000 lives and $8,000,000. This railroad made the Panama route very attractive, faster and reliable to travelers going to or from California even before it was completed in 1855. A trip that had taken 7-10 difficult and uncomfortable days was converted into a one day train ride. After 1855 a trip from the East Coast to California could be reliably predicted to take about 40 days or less going either way. After 1855 the Panama route and the easy one day passage across Panama essentially shut down the competing routes to California across Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Most of the returning miners (its estimated that about 20% of 'Argonauts" returned east) and their gold took the Panama route.

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