 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fleetwood |
| Owner | U.B. Scott; Z.J. Hatch |
| Completed | 1881, atPortland, Oregon |
| Fate | Sunk, Abandoned on beach atQuartermaster Harbor, circa 1898 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Express passenger |
| Tonnage | 135-tons |
| Length | 111 ft (34 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (10 m) |
| Installed power | steam |
| Propulsion | propeller-drive |
The steamboatFleetwood operated in the 1880s and 1890s on theColumbia River and later as part of thePuget Sound Mosquito Fleet.
Fleetwood was built in 1881, atPortland, Oregon, for Captain U.B. Scott and his associates L.B. Seeley and E.W. Creighton.[1]Fleetwood was propeller-driven, 111' long, and rated at 135 tons.[2][3]
Capt. Scott successfully ranFleetwood on the Astoria and Cascade routes on theColumbia River, in opposition to the would-be monopoly of theOregon Railway and Navigation Company, then under the control ofHenry Villard.Fleetwood outran the monopoly's steamers by two hours on the Astoria run, and built up so much business that Captain Scott had to replace her with the crack sternwheelerTelephone.[4] Captain Scott trimmed upFleetwood ‘s appearance a bit, not entirely to the liking of historian Newell:
The resulting striped paneling along her house, ginger-bread work on her cabin roof, and high-pointed pilot house roof crowned with a gilt ball, all gave the sturdy littleFleetwood an unfortunate resemblance to a forest cottage in a Grimm’s fairy tale book.[5]
Other masters ofFleetwood on the Columbia River included Capt. William H. Whitcomb, a member of a prominent Northwest marine family, and, on Puget Sound, Capt. Henry Carter.[6]
In 1888,[7] Capt. U.B. Scott soldFleetwood to Capt. Z.J. Hatch, who transferred the vessel to Puget Sound.[8]Fleetwood was brought around to Puget Sound by Captain Messegee for her new owner Capt. Hatch. On the way up, Captain Scott’s fancy trim work on the deckhouse caught fire, but the crew was able to extinguish it andFleetwood roundedCape Flattery and reachedNeah Bay just 24 hours after leaving theColumbia Bar. Once on Puget SoundFleetwood ran against another boat transferred up from the Columbia River,Emma Haywood.Fleetwood was advertised as a "fast time" steamer, leaving Horr's Wharf at Olympia at 6:00 a.m., stopping at Puget City,Steilacoom, and the Northern Pacific Railway wharf at Tacoma, and reaching Seattle's Yesler wharf at noon, then returning on the same route, arriving back in Olympia at 7:00 p.m.[9]
In 1889,Fleetwood made record time on a trip from Olympia to Seattle to carry a steam fire engine to the aid of that city during its great fire.[10] When Captain Scott expanded operations up to Puget Sound, he bought backFleetwood and put her on theSeattle-Tacoma run with the new and eventually much more famous propeller steamerFlyer.[11] On September 7, 1890,Fleetwood engaged unsuccessfully in an impromptu race between Tacoma and Seattle with the then brand-new and very fast sternwheelerGreyhound.[12]
In 1898[13]Fleetwood was abandoned on the beach inQuartermaster Harbor where for many years she was visible as she slowly rotted away.[10][14]
Gibbs, Jim and Williamson, Joe,Maritime Memories of Puget Sound, at 129, Schiffer Publishing, West Chester, PA 1987ISBN 0-88740-044-2 (publishing photo showing bothFleetwood abandoned on beach and her location relative to the floating drydock atQuartermaster Harbor.)