Oregon (sidewheeler 1852)

Oregon was a side-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Willamette River in the state of Oregon from 1852 to 1854. The steamer was not economically successful and became a total loss by sinking after a short career.

Advertisement for Oregon, placed March 10, 1854
History
Name:	Oregon
Owner:	Ben Simpson and others
Route:	Upper Willamette River
In service:	1852
Out of service:	1854
Fate:	Sunk after striking snag, total loss
General characteristics
Type:	inland steamship
Length:	120 ft (36.6 m) exclusive of fantail
Beam:	22 ft (6.7 m) exclusive of guards
Depth:	5 ft (2 m) depth of hold
Installed power:	steam engine
Propulsion:	side-wheel

Construction

Oregon was built at Fairfield, Oregon in the summer of 1852.[1] Fairfield was located 16 miles (26 km) downstream from Salem, Oregon, and was once one of the most important wheat shipping points on the Willamette River.[2] Ben Simpson, the held of the original ownership syndicate, was also the builder.[1] Construction was supervised in the summer of 1852 by George A. Pease (1830-1918).[1]

Oregon was 120 feet long.[3] The beam (width) of the steamer was 22 feet (6.7 m), probably exclusive of the guards.[3] The depth of hold was 5 feet.[3]

Oregon was described as a small sidewheeler and a poor money earner.[4]

Operations

George A. Pease (1830-1919), first pilot of the Oregon.

Upon completion, Parker and J.D. Shields served as captains.[1] George A. Pease was the pilot of the Oregon until July 1853.[1] Another report states that Jacob Wortman (1827-1904).[5], later president of the First National Bank of McMinnville, was the captain of Oregon, starting in 1853.[6] Fare from Oregon City to Corvallis, Oregon was then $30 for a trip.[6]

Starting on December 3, 1853, the "fast running steamer" Oregon was advertised as making regular runs from Oregon to Marysville, as Corvallis was then known, and way landings.[7]

On March 4, 1854, the steamer Oregon was reported to have been purchased by the Willamette Falls Mill and Transport Company, sometimes referred to as the Willamette Falls Company.[8]

On March 17, 1854, the Willamette Falls Company placed into service a new steamer, the side-wheeler Gazelle, giving the company, briefly, two steamers operating above Willamette Falls.[3][9]

Loss

Shortly after Gazelle was placed in operation, Oregon was sunk and became a total loss. Oregon hit a snag just down river from Salem, and began sinking.[10] Word was passed to Gazelle, which steamed upriver and stood by as Oregon was filling with water.[10]

Cargo from the Oregon was loaded onto Gazelle to lighten Oregon to better allow salvaging.[10] Suddenly Oregon broke free of the snag, drifted downstream, ran up on a sandbar and sank so deeply that only a part of the upper works were visible above the water.[10] Oregon was a total loss.[10]

Gazelle itself was destroyed by a boiler explosion only a short time later, on April 8, 1854, ending the brief steamboat operations of the Willamette Falls Company[9]

Notes

1. Wright, E.W., ed. (1895). "Chapter 2: Development of Local Marine Traffic, Building of Sailing and Steam Vessels". Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. p. 27. LCCN 28001147.
2. Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). "Wheat Ports of the Middle River … Fairfield Landing". Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the River (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. pp. 89–94. ISBN 0875950426.
3. Affleck, Edward L. (2000). "Part One: Chapter Two: Columbia River Waterways — List of Vessels". A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska. Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. pp. 14 and 22. ISBN 0-920034-08-X.
4. Wright, E.W., ed. (1895). "Chapter 3: Steam Navigation on Upper Willamette, Rapid Growth of River Business". Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. p. 37. LCCN 28001147.
5. "Jacob Wortman". Find a Grave. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
6. "Jacob Wortman, president of the First National Bank of McMinnville ..." Oregon City Courier-Herald. 17 (46). Oregon City, OR: A.W. Cheney. April 6, 1900. p.5, col.3.
7. "For Marysville, &c". Oregon Spectator (advertisement). 7 (4). Oregon City, O.T.: C.L. Goodrich. Mar 10, 1854. p.4, col.1.
8. "The steamer "Oregon" has been purchased by …". Oregon Spectator. 7 (3). Oregon City, O.T.: C.L. Goodrich. Mar 4, 1854. p.2, col.1.
9. Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). "Lost Towns of Willamette Falls … Canemah, "the Canoe Place"". Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the River (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. p. 64. ISBN 0875950426.
10. Mills, Randall V. (1947). "Chapter 9: As the Sparks Fly Upwards". Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska. p. 115. ISBN 0-8032-5874-7. LCCN 77007161.

References

Printed sources

• Affleck, Edward L. (2000). A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska. Vancouver, BC: Alexander Nicholls Press. ISBN 0-920034-08-X.
• Corning, Howard McKinley (1973). Willamette Landings -- Ghost Towns of the River (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society. ISBN 0875950426.
• Mills, Randall V. (1947). Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country. Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska. ISBN 0-8032-5874-7. LCCN 77007161.
• Timmen, Fritz (1973). Blow for the Landing -- A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-221-1. LCCN 73150815.
• Wright, E.W., ed. (1895). Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. LCCN 28001147.

Newspaper collections

• "Historic Oregon Newspapers". University of Oregon.