The Steamboats of Coos Bay operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on Coos Bay

Coos Bay

Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The estuary is situated south of the Salmon River. The city of Coos Bay, once named Marshfield, was...

, a large and mostly shallow harbor on the southwest coast

Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 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...

, to the north of the Coquille River

Coquille River

The Coquille River is a stream long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed is located between that of the Coos River to the north and the Rogue River to the south.-Geography:The river,...

 valley. Coos Bay is the major harbor on the west coast of the United States between San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 and the mouth of 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...

.

Establishment of inland water routes

Inland riverboats were used to navigate the bay and the several rivers flow that flow into it. Many of the passages were quite narrow, for example Beaver Slough was aptly named, as every night beavers built dams across the slough which had to be dismantled to allow the passage of Mud Hen.

• Mud Hen, Aug 12, 1915

Nat H. Lane and W.H. Troup, both steamboat captains from 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...

, began steamboat operations on Coos Bay in 1873. They built and operated Messenger, doing business as the Coos Bay and Coquille Transportation Company. One feature of Coos Bay was that one shallow southern arm reaches south almost to Beaver Slough, a shallow north-extending branch of the Coquille River

Coquille River

The Coquille River is a stream long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed is located between that of the Coos River to the north and the Rogue River to the south.-Geography:The river,...

. Starting in 1869, a mule-hauled portage was built to Beaver Slough, and in 1874, a steam portage railroad replaced it. This was a good shortcut between Marshfield, as Coos Bay was then called, and Coquille, and it also eliminated the need to cross the hazardous Coos and Coquille bars by the ocean.

Frank Lowe had a shipyard in Marshfield, and in the early part of the century he produced many vessels for the Mosquito Fleet, including the propeller Coquille, and the sternwheelers Millicoma and Rainbow.

Rise of the Mosquito Fleet

In 1899, the 13 ton propeller steamer Alma (later Jauniata) was built for passenger service on Coos Bay. Gasgo, 8 tons, powered by gasoline, was built in 1900 at Marshfield, and was placed in passenger service on Coos Bay and the Umpqua River. In 1903, Comet (9 tons), Curlew, Dixie (8 tons), Eagle (12 tons), and Fish were all built at Marshfield for the Coos bay service. Dixie also served on the Coquille River.

In 1907. Max Timmerman launched Bonita (14 tons) and City of Coos Bay (later Sunrise) (13 tons), both used on Coos Bay and the Umpqua River. W.W. Holland built the passenger vessels Beaver (later converted to a tug and renamed Atomic) (8 tons), Express, Queen (14 tons) and Koos (10 tons), all for the Coos Bay service. Other boats built for Coos Bay work 1907 included from Marshfield yards, by G.H. Elliott, Messenger (10 tons), and by Frank Lowe, Telephone (7 tons). At North Bend, Z.A. Kanick built Tioga (11 tons), and at Allegany

Allegany, Oregon

Allegany is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States east of Coos Bay. According to Oregon Geographic Names, a post office was established there in 1893, and it is unknown why this spelling was chosen rather than the more common form, Allegheny, used for many features in...

, H.P. McCallon built Transfer. In 1908, Peter Olson built Coast (later renamed Enterprise and Arrow No. 5), Arthur Mattson, Marshfield and J.D. Ross, Traveler (8 tons) and, by Max Timmerman Victor (8 tons) and Wolverine (14 tons). W.W. Holland built Ranger (12 tons) and Shamrock (8 tons).

In 1909, Timmerman built the gas boats Hercules and Mae, both 12 tons, and Holland built Alice H. (11 tons). In 1912, various yards around Coos Bay built the small gasoline-powered vessels Albatross (13 tons), Freak (11 tons), and Union (7 tons). Turtle (16 tons) was built the same year, and a good photo of her survives, loading wood components, probably ship's knees for the construction of a steam schooner.

North Bend yards also produced a number of smaller vessels. In 1908, George Smith built the towboat Arrow, Peter Peterson, Vega, J.H. Cullon, Mawnell (8 tons), and, by C.A. Johnson, North Star. Images of some of the smaller vessels, from the Victor West Collection of the Coos Art Museum include Hannah, Dora, Favorite, and Marshfield

1912 was a bad year for wrecks among the mosquito fleet. On March 6, 1912, Curlew, which had been hauling milk from Sumner

Sumner, Oregon

Sumner is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States. It is located about ten miles southeast of Coos Bay on the route of the old Coos Bay Wagon Road....

 to Marshfield, collided with the Simpson Lumber Company's tug Columbia at North Bend, and sank as a result. On December 30, 1912, Mayflower burned at Coos Bay. Worst of all, on January 20, 1912, the North Star No. 1, which had been operated by Joseph Yonkers between Marshfield and the South Inlet, drifted over the bar and capsized, drowning Yonkers and five passengers. Bad as this was, it could have been worse, as North Star No. 1 had dropped off 12 passengers at a landing just before the accident.

Mission boat Life-Line

One of the more unusual vessels built in 1912 was Life-Line

Life-Line (mission boat)

Life-Line was a Baptist missionary boat used to conduct ministry work in the Coos Bay region of southwestern Oregon, United States, from 1914 to 1923.-Construction :...

, a gasoline-powered 24 hp propeller vessel designed by George H. Hitchings and built for use as a mission boat by the Rev. G. L. Hall of the American Baptist Publications Society. Marshall summed up Life-Lines career and end as follows:

• Life-Line (photo from Victor West Collection of the Coos Art Museum)

List of vessels

Inland steam and river boats of Coos Bay

Name	Type	Year Built	Where Built	Builders	Owners	Gross Tons	Length	Disposition
Messenger	sternwheeler	1872	Empire City	Capt. M. Lane		136	91'	burned 1876 at Coos Bay, total loss
Juno	propeller	1906	Marshfield Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...			32	60.8'	unknown
Millicoma	sternwheeler	1909	Marshfield Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...	Frank Lowe		14	55'	later converted to gasoline engine, rebuilt 1917 as propeller, ult. dispo unk.
Pedler	sternwheeler	1908	Marshfield Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...	S. Gilroy		407	124'	unknown, 1910
Fay No. 4	sternwheeler (gasoline)	1912	North Bend North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, in the United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census. North Bend is surrounded on three sides by Coos Bay, an S-shaped water inlet and estuary where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean, and borders the city of Coos Bay,...			179	136'	Transferred to California, 1913
Life-Line Life-Line (mission boat) Life-Line was a Baptist missionary boat used to conduct ministry work in the Coos Bay region of southwestern Oregon, United States, from 1914 to 1923.-Construction :...	propeller (gasoline)	1912	Marshfield Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...				36'	Foundered off coast June 5, 1923, just south of Neahkanie Mountain, while en route from Coos Bay to Kelso Kelso, Washington Kelso is a city in southwest Washington State, United States, and is the county seat of Cowlitz County. At the 2010 census, the population was 11,925. Kelso is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 102,410. Kelso shares its long western border... . Crew survived, hull washed ashore and buried by sand.
Rainbow	sternwheeler	1912	Marshfield Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...	Frank Lowe	Coos River Trans. Co.	75	64'	Abandoned 1923