T. J. Potter
Encyclopedia
The T.J. Potter was a steamboat
that operated in the Northwestern United States
. The boat was launched in 1888. Her upper cabins came from the steamboat Wide West. This required some modification, because the T.J. Potter was a side-wheeler, whereas the Wide West had been a stern-wheeler. The boat's first owner was the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.
.jpg)
The T.J. Potter, commonly referred to as the Potter, was built entirely of wood by a firm owned by John F. Steffan. She was built for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. She was launched at Portland, Oregon in 1888. She was propelled by two non-condensing steam engines, with 32" cylinders, each with an eight foot stroke, and generating (together or singly is not sure) 1,700 horsepower. Her single boiler and firebox were built in 1887 by the Pusey & Jones Company, of Wilmington, Delaware
. The boiler
was 32 feet (9.8 m) long with a diameter of 84 inches (2,133.6 mm). Her gross tonnage
was 659 and her net tonnage was 589. As built, the Potter was 230 feet (70.1 m) long, with a beam of 35 feet (10.7 m), and depth of hold of 10 feet. Her U.S. registry number was 145489.
Construction of the Potter was supervised by Captain James W. Troup, one of the most famous steamboat captains in the West. On May 26, 1888, the same year the Potter was built, Captain Troup had brought the sternwheeler Hassalo
over a six-mile (10 km) stretch of rapids called the Cascades of the Columbia during low water, reaching speeds of 50 miles (80.5 km) an hour in the process.
When built, the Potter had a reputation as one of the fastest and most luxurious steamboats in the Pacific Northwest:
,_seattle,_1891.jpg)
The first season after she was launched, her owners put her on the tourist run from Portland to Astoria, Oregon
. In August 1888, the Potter made the run from Portland to Astoria in 5 hours and 31 minutes. By comparison, the fastest steamboat on the Columbia River at that time was the Potters competitor Telephone, which on July 2, 1887 had made the 105 miles (169 km) run from Portland to Astoria in 4 hours and 34 minutes.
After that, she was transferred to Puget Sound
to compete with another famous steamboat, the Bailey Gatzert
, which was owned by the Seattle Steam Navigation and Transportation Company. The Bailey was a stern-wheeler, and did better in the Sound than the sidewheeler Potter, which rolled from side to side in swells, raising first one paddle wheel then the other out of the water.
Even so, the T.J. Potter was one of the fastest steamboats on Puget Sound, and is reported in 1890 to have bested the famous sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert in a race. The Potter was also reported to have set a record time of 82 minutes on the run from Seattle to Tacoma. While operating out of Puget Sound, the Potter, along with many other local steamboats, helped fight the Great Seattle Fire
of 1889:
for good. She was placed on the Portland-Astoria run, where she competed with steamboats owned by the Shaver Transportation Company
. The Potters owners, Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, struck an anti-competitive deal with Shaver Transportation
, whereby the Shaver boats, including the Sarah Dixon
, would stay off the Portland-Astoria route in return for a monthly subsidy from Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. Other competitors of the Potter on the Portland-Astoria run included Lurline and Georgiana.
_1901.jpg)
_1910_postcard.jpg)
In 1901 the Potter was rebuilt, increasing her length by only a few feet but greatly increasing her weight. Her gross tonnage rose from 650 to 1017 tons, and her net tonnage from 590 to 826. The increased weight cut several knots off her speed. Her wheelhouse was rebuilt, and instead of a flat roof, she had a dome with flagpole. This was unique among Columbia River steamboats.
Following the rebuild (which cost $86,000), the Potters owners put her on the run from Portland to Ilwaco, Washington
for connection with the narrow-gauge Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company
, serving primarily the summer tourist trade.
Just before the opening of the tourist season in 1916 the Potter was condemned for passenger use. The Potter was not replaced on the Portland-Ilwaco run, as there was insufficient passenger traffic to justify putting a new boat on the route.
The Potter then served as a barracks boat for construction crews until sometime in the early 1920s, when she was abandoned in Youngs Bay
near Astoria
. She was reportedly burned for her metal, but this may not be correct. Faber publishes a photograph showing her abandoned, stripped of upper works, but with her hull substantially intact, with large metal components such as her rudder strap intact. (Faber, at page 155).
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...
that operated in the Northwestern United States
Northwestern United States
The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States, and consistently include the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, to which part of southeast Alaska is also sometimes included...
. The boat was launched in 1888. Her upper cabins came from the steamboat Wide West. This required some modification, because the T.J. Potter was a side-wheeler, whereas the Wide West had been a stern-wheeler. The boat's first owner was the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.
Design and construction
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. The boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
was 32 feet (9.8 m) long with a diameter of 84 inches (2,133.6 mm). Her gross tonnage
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...
was 659 and her net tonnage was 589. As built, the Potter was 230 feet (70.1 m) long, with a beam of 35 feet (10.7 m), and depth of hold of 10 feet. Her U.S. registry number was 145489.
Construction of the Potter was supervised by Captain James W. Troup, one of the most famous steamboat captains in the West. On May 26, 1888, the same year the Potter was built, Captain Troup had brought the sternwheeler Hassalo
Hassalo (sternwheeler 1880)
The steamboat Hassalo operated from 1880 to 1898 on the Columbia River and Puget Sound. Hassalo became famous for running the Cascades of the Columbia on May 26, 1888 at a speed approaching an hour...
over a six-mile (10 km) stretch of rapids called the Cascades of the Columbia during low water, reaching speeds of 50 miles (80.5 km) an hour in the process.
When built, the Potter had a reputation as one of the fastest and most luxurious steamboats in the Pacific Northwest:
Operation on Puget Sound
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...
. In August 1888, the Potter made the run from Portland to Astoria in 5 hours and 31 minutes. By comparison, the fastest steamboat on the Columbia River at that time was the Potters competitor Telephone, which on July 2, 1887 had made the 105 miles (169 km) run from Portland to Astoria in 4 hours and 34 minutes.
After that, she was transferred 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...
to compete with another famous steamboat, the Bailey Gatzert
Bailey Gatzert (sternwheeler)
The Bailey Gatzert was a famous sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Columbia River and Puget Sound from the 1890s to the 1920s. She was named after Bailey Gatzert, an early businessman and mayor of Seattle...
, which was owned by the Seattle Steam Navigation and Transportation Company. The Bailey was a stern-wheeler, and did better in the Sound than the sidewheeler Potter, which rolled from side to side in swells, raising first one paddle wheel then the other out of the water.
Even so, the T.J. Potter was one of the fastest steamboats on Puget Sound, and is reported in 1890 to have bested the famous sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert in a race. The Potter was also reported to have set a record time of 82 minutes on the run from Seattle to Tacoma. While operating out of Puget Sound, the Potter, along with many other local steamboats, helped fight the Great Seattle Fire
Great Seattle Fire
The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington, USA, on June 6, 1889.-Early Seattle:In the fall of 1851, the Denny Party arrived at Alki Point in what is now the state of Washington...
of 1889:
Return to Columbia River
Eventually the Potter was transferred back to the Columbia RiverColumbia 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...
for good. She was placed on the Portland-Astoria run, where she competed with steamboats owned by the Shaver Transportation Company
Shaver Transportation Company
The Shaver Transportation Company is an inland water freight transportation company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded in 1880, and played a major role in the development of freight transport in the Portland area and along the Columbia., Harry L...
. The Potters owners, Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, struck an anti-competitive deal with Shaver Transportation
Shaver Transportation Company
The Shaver Transportation Company is an inland water freight transportation company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded in 1880, and played a major role in the development of freight transport in the Portland area and along the Columbia., Harry L...
, whereby the Shaver boats, including the Sarah Dixon
Sarah Dixon (sternwheeler)
Sarah Dixon was a wooden sternwheel-driven steamboat operated by the Shaver Transportation Company on the Columbia and lower Willamette rivers from 1892 to 1926. Originally Sarah Dixon was built as a mixed use passenger and freight vessel, and was considered a prestige vessel for the time. Later,...
, would stay off the Portland-Astoria route in return for a monthly subsidy from Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. Other competitors of the Potter on the Portland-Astoria run included Lurline and Georgiana.
Captain and crew
In 1901, Joe Turner was the captain of the T.J. Potter. Other crew at apparently the same time, but whose positions are uncertain, included Al Gray (Faber, cited below, identifies Gray as captain), Julius Oliver, James Healey, Harry O. Staples, Ed Scott, Fred Ware, Claude Cooper, Wendell Smith, and Henry Hoffman.Reconstruction
Following the rebuild (which cost $86,000), the Potters owners put her on the run from Portland to Ilwaco, Washington
Ilwaco, Washington
Ilwaco is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 950 at the 2000 census and decreased to 936 at the 2010 census.-History:...
for connection with the narrow-gauge Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company
Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company
The Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company operated a narrow gauge railroad ran for over forty years from the bar of the Columbia River up the Long Beach Peninsula to Nahcotta, Washington, on Willapa Bay. The line ran entirely in Pacific County, Washington, and had no connection to any outside rail...
, serving primarily the summer tourist trade.
Later years and abandonment
The Potter was refurbished in 1910, and continued in operation on the Portland-Ilwaco run. In the early 1990s, Professor Frederick Bracher recalled riding on the Potter from Portland to Ilwaco as a young child in 1915:The Potter then served as a barracks boat for construction crews until sometime in the early 1920s, when she was abandoned in Youngs Bay
Youngs Bay
Youngs Bay, or Youngs River Bay, is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Oregon. The Youngs River meets the Columbia River at this point, which is situated between Astoria and Warrenton. There are two bridges that cross the bay, with the busiest being Old Youngs Bay Bridge, a...
near 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...
. She was reportedly burned for her metal, but this may not be correct. Faber publishes a photograph showing her abandoned, stripped of upper works, but with her hull substantially intact, with large metal components such as her rudder strap intact. (Faber, at page 155).
External links
- Photo, remains of the T.J. Potter at Youngs Bay, Oregon, taken July 14, 1957 This photograph shows the typical fate of wooden steam riverine vessels that managed to survive into the age of the automobile, that is, abandoned and rotting on an out of the way beach.
- T.J. Potter at wharf of Oregon Improvement Company, sometime between 1888 and 1901. This photograph shows well the T.J. Potter before reconstruction including the ornate paddlewheel boxes.