Shoalwater (sidewheeler 1852)
Encyclopedia
The steamboat Shoalwater was the sixth steamer to operate on the upper Willamette River
, which refers to the part of the river above Willamette Falls
at Oregon City
. In a short career of six years, Shoalwater was renamed Fenix, Franklin, and Minnie Holmes. Shoalwater was the first steamboat in Oregon to suffer a boiler explosion, although fortunately no fatalities resulted.
, a small settlement just above Willamette Falls. Her first owners were McCarver and Son, who were merchants in Oregon City. Leonard White and others may have had ownership interests in the vessel. Shoalwater was fitted with two geared engines, of which historian Corning said "generated more noise than power". Shoalwater, as her name indicated, was designed to run when all other boats were compelled to lay up for lack of water on the sand and gravel bars that often blocked river navigation.
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On April 30, 1853, while Shoalwater was making a landing below Rock Island near Butteville
on the Willamette River between Champoeg
and Canemah, the steam ran up too fast, causing a flue to collapse. Several persons received injuries, none of which, however, resulted seriously. The accident proved so expensive that the vessel changed ownership and name, this time to Fenix (the owners' method of spelling Phoenix).
. During this time, Capt. Leonard White, who was considered one of the most intrepid of all steamboat captains of the time, took Fenix up the Willamette River to Harrisburg
, which was further upriver then any steamboat had yet been run, and well above Corvallis, which was the presumed head of navigation at the time. Fenix is also recorded as having taking Independence Day celebrants out from Champoeg for a three mile (5 km) excursion cruise on July 4, 1854.
to Lafayette
. Hereford was competing with the larger steamer Oregon and once tried to pass Oregon on a narrow stretch of the river. The vessels collided, and Oregon shoved Fenix out of the way. The Willamette Falls Company decided to sell Fenix and replace her with a steamer then under construction at Canemah. (That steamer was never launched, having burned on the ways when almost complete.)
, stopping at the many landings along the way. The vessel was later lengthened and renamed Minnie Holmes, in honor of a young woman of Oregon City. (Minnie Holmes later married Dan O' Neill, who in 1850 had been a captain of Columbia
, the first steamboat built in the Oregon Territory
. O'Neill later became a long-term steamboat purser.)
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...
, which refers to the part of the river above Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
at Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
. In a short career of six years, Shoalwater was renamed Fenix, Franklin, and Minnie Holmes. Shoalwater was the first steamboat in Oregon to suffer a boiler explosion, although fortunately no fatalities resulted.
Construction
Shoalwater was built in 1852 by Leonard White at CanemahCanemah, Oregon
Canemah was an early settlement in the U.S. state of Oregon located near Willamette Falls on the Willamette River. It is now a district within Oregon City.-Location:...
, a small settlement just above Willamette Falls. Her first owners were McCarver and Son, who were merchants in Oregon City. Leonard White and others may have had ownership interests in the vessel. Shoalwater was fitted with two geared engines, of which historian Corning said "generated more noise than power". Shoalwater, as her name indicated, was designed to run when all other boats were compelled to lay up for lack of water on the sand and gravel bars that often blocked river navigation.
Mechanical failure and renaming as Fenix
Butteville, Oregon
Butteville is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Butteville as a census-designated place . The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with...
on the Willamette River between Champoeg
Champoeg, Oregon
Champoeg is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the Willamette Valley in the early 1840s. It is positioned halfway between Oregon City and Salem and the site of the first provisional government of the Oregon Country...
and Canemah, the steam ran up too fast, causing a flue to collapse. Several persons received injuries, none of which, however, resulted seriously. The accident proved so expensive that the vessel changed ownership and name, this time to Fenix (the owners' method of spelling Phoenix).
Reaching the head of navigation
Fenix became part of the short-lived Defiance Line, which made daily runs south from Canemah with the steamers Wallamet and CanemahCanemah (sidewheeler)
Canemah was one of the first steamboats to run on the Willamette River above Willamette Falls. Canemah was the first steamboat to load grain at Corvallis, the first to carry the mail on the Willamette River, and the first steamboat in Oregon to suffer a fatal boiler explosion.-Design and...
. During this time, Capt. Leonard White, who was considered one of the most intrepid of all steamboat captains of the time, took Fenix up the Willamette River to Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Oregon
Harrisburg is a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,795 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, which was further upriver then any steamboat had yet been run, and well above Corvallis, which was the presumed head of navigation at the time. Fenix is also recorded as having taking Independence Day celebrants out from Champoeg for a three mile (5 km) excursion cruise on July 4, 1854.
Operations on Yamhill River
Captain White sold Fenix to Captain Hereford, who with others in the Willamette Falls Company was trying to organize a steamboat line. Hereford put Fenix on the run from Canemah up the Willamette and then the Yamhill RiverYamhill River
The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
to Lafayette
Lafayette, Oregon
Lafayette is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States on the Yamhill River and Oregon Route 99W. It was founded in 1846 and incorporated in 1878...
. Hereford was competing with the larger steamer Oregon and once tried to pass Oregon on a narrow stretch of the river. The vessels collided, and Oregon shoved Fenix out of the way. The Willamette Falls Company decided to sell Fenix and replace her with a steamer then under construction at Canemah. (That steamer was never launched, having burned on the ways when almost complete.)
Sale to Citizens' Accommodation Line
Fenix was sold and again renamed, as Franklin and was run by the Citizens' Accommodation Line in company with Canemah. Three times a week Franklin made trips from Canemah to SalemSalem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, stopping at the many landings along the way. The vessel was later lengthened and renamed Minnie Holmes, in honor of a young woman of Oregon City. (Minnie Holmes later married Dan O' Neill, who in 1850 had been a captain of Columbia
Columbia (sidewheeler 1850)
The Columbia was a steamboat built at Astoria, Oregon in 1850. Columbia was the first steamboat built in the Oregon Territory, and the first to establish regular service on the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers...
, the first steamboat built in the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
. O'Neill later became a long-term steamboat purser.)
Conversion to sawmill
Shoalwater was unable to earn money under any name, and so in 1858 sold her to B. N. Du Rell, by whom she was taken to Salem and fitted up as a floating sawmill. The machinery was subsequently removed and permanently located on the bank of the river, where it was used in the manufacture of lumber until i860, at which time the mill was destroyed by fire.Further reading
- Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake -- Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN 0-9615811-0-7
- Newell, Gordon, and Williamson, Joe, Pacific Steamboats, Bonanza Books, New York, NY (1963)