West coast lumber trade
Encyclopedia
The West Coast lumber trade was a maritime trade route on the West Coast of the United States
. It carried lumber
from the coasts of Washington, Oregon
, and Northern
and Central California
mainly to the port of San Francisco
.
As late as the California Gold Rush
, New England
lumber was still carried 13,000 miles around Cape Horn
to San Francisco. But that started to change when Captain Stephen Smith (of the bark George Henry) established the first west coast lumber mill in a redwood forest near Bodega, California
, in 1843. By the mid-1880s, more than 400 such mills operated within the forests of California's Humboldt County
and along the shores of Humboldt Bay
alone.
At first, the lumber was shipped in old square-rigger
s, but these aging ships were inefficient as they required a large crew to operate and were hard to load. Soon local shipyards opened to supply specialist vessels. In 1865 Hans Ditlev Bendixsen
opened one of these yards at Fairhaven, California
on Humboldt Bay adjacent to Eureka
. Bendixsen built many vessels for the lumber trade, including the C.A. Thayer
, now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
. He constructed 92 sailing vessel
s between 1869 and 1901, including 35 three-masters.
The lumber schooners were built of the same Douglas fir as the planks they carried. (Schooner Oregon Pine
was named after the tree.) They had shallow drafts for crossing coastal bars, uncluttered deck arrangements for ease of loading, and were especially handy for maneuvering into the tiny, Northern California ports. Many West Coast lumber schooners were also rigged without topsails, a configuration referred to as being baldheaded. This rig simplified tacking into the strong westerlies when bound north. Crews liked baldheaders because no topmast meant no climbing aloft to shift or furl the sails. If more sail was desired then it could be set by being hoisted from the deck.
The demands of navigating the Redwood Coast, however, and a boom in the lumber industry in the 1860s called for the development of handy two-masted schooners able to operate in the tiny dog-hole ports that served the sawmills. Many sites along this stretch of coast utilized chutes and wire trapeze rigging to load the small coastal schooners with lumber. Most of these ports were so small they were called dog-hole ports—since they supposedly were just big enough to allow a dog to get in and out. Dozens of these were built, and almost any small cove or river outlet was a prime candidate for a chute. Each dog-hole was unique, which was why schooner captains often sailed back and forth to the same ports to load. The mariners were often forced to load right among the rocks and cliffs in the treacherous surf.
The schooner rig dominated the lumber trade, since its fore-and-aft rigging permitted sailing closer to the wind, easier entry to small ports, and smaller crews than square-rigged vessels. These ships needed to return to the lumber ports without the expense of loading ballast. Shipyards built some smaller schooners with centerboards that retracted. This helped the flat-bottomed vessels to enter shallow water.
At the time of the construction of the barque
Hesperus in 1882, Jackson writes, "the form of the West Coast lumber vessels had become well established and were a radical departure from the New England built ships." Because lumber is a bulk cargo that does not require shelter, and is difficult to stow below decks, lumber ships from yards such as the Hall Brothers in Port Blakely, Washington
were built without the between decks of the New England "Downeasters." "Close to half of their cargo was stowed as deckload – that is above deck."
Jackson also writes that a triangle trade had developed at this time, with "lumber out to Australia
, coal
to Hawaii
, and sugar
to San Francisco. It should be noted that the return cargoes were compact and heavy, thus no need for the conventional deep hull form.".
Recently, evidence of the local trade in Northern California was unearthed when a historic oven used in Fort Bragg
from 1909 until 2003 was discovered to be built with "hundreds of century-old brick
s, many stamped with the name of the California brick factory from which they had come: Richmond, Stockton and Corona." Press coverage states that "these bricks had come north from San Francisco as ballast
on lumber ships. In the years after the 1906 quake
, Fort Bragg sent tons of timber to the city to be used in rebuilding. Coming home, the ships used bricks from Bay Area factories for weight and for new construction in Fort Bragg."
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Soon steam schooners (wooden but powered) replaced the small two-masters in the dog-hole trade and larger schooners, such as the still existing C.A. Thayer and the Wawona
, were built for longer voyages and bigger cargo. West Coast shipyards continued to build sail-rigged lumber schooners until 1905 and wooden steam schooners until 1923. In 1907 observers noted the increase in size of schooners. The first three-masted schooner built on the Coast was launched in 1875. It was also the first lumber schooner to exceed 300 tons. Ship wrights built the first four-master in 1886 and the first five-master in 1896. The later were more generally involved in the overseas trade. Sail schooners grew from fifty to 1,100 tons during this period. More than 50 major shipbuilders operated on the Pacific Coast during the era of the coast wise schooners. Demand for coastwise lumber shipping continued until after the First World War and total lumber transported by the railroads did not exceed its seaborne competition until about 1905. Even in the 1870s mills shipped lumber directly from some dog-holes to Asia and South America.
Eventually, however, steam-powered
vessels proved more dependable than sail, and railroads gained greater penetration of the coastal regions. Sailing vessels continued to compete with steamships and railroads well into the 20th century, but the last purpose-built lumber schooner was launched in 1905.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It carried lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
from the coasts of Washington, 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...
, and Northern
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and Central California
Central California
Central California, sometimes referenced as Mid-State, is an area of California south of the San Francisco Bay Area and north of Southern California...
mainly to the port of 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...
.
Lumber schooners
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...
, New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
lumber was still carried 13,000 miles 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...
to San Francisco. But that started to change when Captain Stephen Smith (of the bark George Henry) established the first west coast lumber mill in a redwood forest near Bodega, California
Bodega, California
Bodega is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sonoma County in the U.S. state of California. The town had a population of 220 as of the 2010 Census.Bodega is located on Bodega Highway, about west of Freestone, California...
, in 1843. By the mid-1880s, more than 400 such mills operated within the forests of California's Humboldt County
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
and along the shores of Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, United States entirely within Humboldt County. The regional center and county seat of Eureka and the college town of Arcata adjoin the bay, which is the second largest enclosed...
alone.
At first, the lumber was shipped in old square-rigger
Square rig
Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called yards and their tips, beyond the last stay, are called the yardarms...
s, but these aging ships were inefficient as they required a large crew to operate and were hard to load. Soon local shipyards opened to supply specialist vessels. In 1865 Hans Ditlev Bendixsen
Hans Ditlev Bendixsen
Hans Ditlev Bendixsen was an American shipbuilder who was instrumental in the development of the merchant marine industry on the West Coast of the United States. His lumber schooners were built in or near Eureka, California in shipyards on Humboldt Bay for over 30 years...
opened one of these yards at Fairhaven, California
Fairhaven, California
Fairhaven is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located west-southwest of downtown Eureka, at an elevation of 10 feet ....
on Humboldt Bay adjacent to Eureka
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
. Bendixsen built many vessels for the lumber trade, including the C.A. Thayer
C.A. Thayer (1895)
The C.A. Thayer is a schooner built in 1895 near Eureka, California. The schooner is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park...
, now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility...
. He constructed 92 sailing vessel
Sailing vessel
Sailing vessel can refer to:*Sailing ship*Sailboat*Ice boat*Land yacht...
s between 1869 and 1901, including 35 three-masters.
The lumber schooners were built of the same Douglas fir as the planks they carried. (Schooner Oregon Pine
Oregon Pine (schooner)
Oregon Pine was a six-masted lumber schooner completed in 1920, which was built as a result of the shipbuilding efforts associated with World War I...
was named after the tree.) They had shallow drafts for crossing coastal bars, uncluttered deck arrangements for ease of loading, and were especially handy for maneuvering into the tiny, Northern California ports. Many West Coast lumber schooners were also rigged without topsails, a configuration referred to as being baldheaded. This rig simplified tacking into the strong westerlies when bound north. Crews liked baldheaders because no topmast meant no climbing aloft to shift or furl the sails. If more sail was desired then it could be set by being hoisted from the deck.
The demands of navigating the Redwood Coast, however, and a boom in the lumber industry in the 1860s called for the development of handy two-masted schooners able to operate in the tiny dog-hole ports that served the sawmills. Many sites along this stretch of coast utilized chutes and wire trapeze rigging to load the small coastal schooners with lumber. Most of these ports were so small they were called dog-hole ports—since they supposedly were just big enough to allow a dog to get in and out. Dozens of these were built, and almost any small cove or river outlet was a prime candidate for a chute. Each dog-hole was unique, which was why schooner captains often sailed back and forth to the same ports to load. The mariners were often forced to load right among the rocks and cliffs in the treacherous surf.
The schooner rig dominated the lumber trade, since its fore-and-aft rigging permitted sailing closer to the wind, easier entry to small ports, and smaller crews than square-rigged vessels. These ships needed to return to the lumber ports without the expense of loading ballast. Shipyards built some smaller schooners with centerboards that retracted. This helped the flat-bottomed vessels to enter shallow water.
At the time of the construction of the barque
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...
Hesperus in 1882, Jackson writes, "the form of the West Coast lumber vessels had become well established and were a radical departure from the New England built ships." Because lumber is a bulk cargo that does not require shelter, and is difficult to stow below decks, lumber ships from yards such as the Hall Brothers in Port Blakely, Washington
Port Blakely, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Port Blakely is a community of Bainbridge Island, Washington. It is located on the east side of the island, slightly to the south. The centre of Port Blakely is generally defined as the intersection of Blakely Hill Road and Blakely Avenue NE, although the wider area is generally also known as...
were built without the between decks of the New England "Downeasters." "Close to half of their cargo was stowed as deckload – that is above deck."
Jackson also writes that a triangle trade had developed at this time, with "lumber out to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
to San Francisco. It should be noted that the return cargoes were compact and heavy, thus no need for the conventional deep hull form.".
Recently, evidence of the local trade in Northern California was unearthed when a historic oven used in Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, California
Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...
from 1909 until 2003 was discovered to be built with "hundreds of century-old brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s, many stamped with the name of the California brick factory from which they had come: Richmond, Stockton and Corona." Press coverage states that "these bricks had come north from San Francisco as ballast
Sailing ballast
Ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of...
on lumber ships. In the years after the 1906 quake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
, Fort Bragg sent tons of timber to the city to be used in rebuilding. Coming home, the ships used bricks from Bay Area factories for weight and for new construction in Fort Bragg."
Steam schooners
Wawona
The three-masted, fore-and-aft schooner Wawona sailed from 1897 to 1947 as a lumber carrier and fishing vessel based in Puget Sound. The schooner was built in near Eureka, California on Humboldt Bay by Hans Ditlev Bendixsen , who was one of the most important West Coast shipbuilders of the late...
, were built for longer voyages and bigger cargo. West Coast shipyards continued to build sail-rigged lumber schooners until 1905 and wooden steam schooners until 1923. In 1907 observers noted the increase in size of schooners. The first three-masted schooner built on the Coast was launched in 1875. It was also the first lumber schooner to exceed 300 tons. Ship wrights built the first four-master in 1886 and the first five-master in 1896. The later were more generally involved in the overseas trade. Sail schooners grew from fifty to 1,100 tons during this period. More than 50 major shipbuilders operated on the Pacific Coast during the era of the coast wise schooners. Demand for coastwise lumber shipping continued until after the First World War and total lumber transported by the railroads did not exceed its seaborne competition until about 1905. Even in the 1870s mills shipped lumber directly from some dog-holes to Asia and South America.
Eventually, however, steam-powered
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...
vessels proved more dependable than sail, and railroads gained greater penetration of the coastal regions. Sailing vessels continued to compete with steamships and railroads well into the 20th century, but the last purpose-built lumber schooner was launched in 1905.
See also
- History of the west coast of North AmericaHistory of the west coast of North AmericaThe human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along a now-submerged coastal plain, through the development of significant pre-Columbian cultures and population densities, to the arrival...
- Hans Ditlev BendixsenHans Ditlev BendixsenHans Ditlev Bendixsen was an American shipbuilder who was instrumental in the development of the merchant marine industry on the West Coast of the United States. His lumber schooners were built in or near Eureka, California in shipyards on Humboldt Bay for over 30 years...
, shipbuilder 1842–1902 - C.A. ThayerC.A. Thayer (1895)The C.A. Thayer is a schooner built in 1895 near Eureka, California. The schooner is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park...
, schooner built in 1895, now on display in San Francisco - WawonaWawonaThe three-masted, fore-and-aft schooner Wawona sailed from 1897 to 1947 as a lumber carrier and fishing vessel based in Puget Sound. The schooner was built in near Eureka, California on Humboldt Bay by Hans Ditlev Bendixsen , who was one of the most important West Coast shipbuilders of the late...
, schooner 1897–1947 - IncaInca (schooner)The Inca was "the first true five-masted schooner built on the West Coast."Inca, "the second of her rig built on the Pacific, was launched at Port Blakely by Hall Bros...
, 5-masted schooner 1896–1920 - Johanna SmithJohanna Smith (ship)The Johanna Smith was a wooden-hulled schooner that transported lumber along the West Coast. She was built near North Bend, Oregon in 1917. She was sold to the Coos Bay Lumber company in 1918 and transported lumber until 1928....
, schooner 1917–1932 - WapamaWapama (steam schooner)Wapama, also known as Tongass, is a vessel now located in Richmond, California. She is the last surviving example of some 225 wooden steam schooners that served the lumber trade and other coastal services along the Pacific Coast of the United States She is managed by the National Park Service at...
, 1915 schooner, now await restoration in Richmond, California - Captain Robert DollarRobert DollarCaptain Robert Dollar was born in Falkirk, Scotland. The title "Captain" was honorary and he was called the “Grand Old Man of the Pacific". Both were bestowed after his entry into the shipping industry. Dollar became a lumber baron, shipping magnate, philanthropist; he was also a Freemason...
, 1844—1932 shipping magnate
External links
- Image search of Northwest lumber industry and ship photos, Charles Pratsch Image Collection, WSU
- Schooner, Dog Hole Landing with Lumber Chutes, Fort Ross Cove
- List of Dog Hole Schooners