.jpg) General Miles at dock inIlwaco, some time between 1882 and 1889. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | General Miles, laterWillapa,Bellingham, andNorco |
| Owner | Ilwaco Rwy & Nav. Co.;Portland Coast & Steamship Co.;Island Trans. Co.;Alaska Steamship Co.;Canadian-Pacific Nav. Co.;Bellingham Bay Trans. Co.;Inland Nav. Co.;Thompson Steamship Co.;Puget Sound Nav. Co.;Straits Steamship Co.;Northland Trans. Co. |
| Route | Columbia River,Grays Harbor,Coos Bay,Tillamook Bay,San Juan Islands,Puget Sound,Vancouver Island,Inside Passage,Strait of Juan de Fuca. |
| Launched | June 15, 1882[1] |
| In service | 1882 |
| Out of service | 1950 |
| Identification | General Miles: US registry #85370;[2]Bellingham: #81313, flag signal letters KDJN.[3] |
| Fate | Scrapped and deliberately burned |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Coastal vessel |
| Tonnage | as built: gross: 127;[2]1st rebuild: 333 gross, 249 regist.[3] |
| Length | As built: 100 ft (30.48 m);rebuilt: 136 ft (41.45 m), later 140 ft (42.67 m) |
| Beam | 22 ft (6.71 m) |
| Depth | 10.5 ft (3.20 m) depth of hold |
| Decks | two (2) |
| Installed power | steam engine; as of 1891 reported as compound, cylinder bores (high pressure) 16 in (40.6 cm) and (low pressure) 32 in (81.3 cm); stroke 32 in (81.3 cm);[1][4] Unpowered from 1919 to 1922, when a 200 horsepower (150 kW)Fairbanks-Morsesemi-diesel engine was installed. |
| Propulsion | propeller |
| Sail plan | Schooner, 1879-1882; sailing barge (unknown rig) 1919-1922. |
| Capacity | As built: 125 passengers; 150 tons freight.[2] |
General Miles was asteamship constructed in 1882 which served in various coastal areas of the states ofOregon andWashington, as well as British Columbia and the territory ofAlaska. It was apparently named after US GeneralNelson A. Miles.
Originally a sailing schooner built in 1879, theGeneral Miles was extensively reconstructed in 1890 and renamedWillapa. In 1903 the name was changed again toBellingham. After a conversion to diesel power in 1922, the vessel was renamedNorco. The vessel is notable for, among other things, for having been first a sailing vessel from 1879 to 1882, a steamship from 1882 to 1918, a sailing barge from 1919 to 1922, and a motor vessel (diesel-powered) from 1922 to 1950.
General Miles was built in 1882 for theIlwaco Steam Navigation Company.[1] The vessel was a rebuilt sailingschooner which had been originally built in 1879.[5]
The ISN had been organized in 1875 byLewis A. Loomis,Jacob Kamm and two others, for the purpose of developing transportation to, from, and on theLong Beach Peninsula, located on the north side of the mouth of theColumbia River.
The company's first vessel was theGeneral Canby, a 110 ft (33.53 m) steam tug built in 1875 atSouth Bend, Washington. ISN organized steamboat routes both onWillapa Bay, on the east side of the Long Beach Peninsula, and also on the Columbia River, on the south side of the peninsula.[2]
By the early 1880s, demand on the Columbia river route, which ran fromAstoria, Oregon toIlwaco, Washington, was increasing beyond theGeneral Canby's legal passenger capacity, which was 75 in summer and 40 in winter.
For this reason, ISN had a new steamer, theGeneral Miles, constructed inPortland, Oregon. Completed in 1882,General Miles was a nearsister ship to theGeneral Canby.[5] TheGeneral Miles was capable of multiple uses, being equipped with towing bits fortugboat work as well as being designed to accommodate 125 passengers and handle 150 tons of freight.[2]
The company placed theGeneral Miles in service right away running with theGeneral Canby, so that two trips a day could be made between Astoria and Illwaco. This improved steamship service helped popularize the Long Beach Peninsula as a destination resort area forPortland, Oregon, which was then growing rapidly in population. ISN also employed theGeneral Miles on occasional trips toTillamook andCoos Bay, Oregon.[2]
The first commander ofGeneral Miles was W.P. Whitcomb (b. 1848), who had previously been in charge of theGeneral Canby. His brother, George H. Whitcomb (b. 1854), also served on theGeneral Miles.[1]
Capt. John Henry D. Gray (b. 1839), who was the grandson of explorerRobert Gray, was one of the masters ofGeneral Miller at this time, as well as being a part owner.[5] Gray usedGeneral Miles in the development of theGrays Harbor area. Gray was in command ofGeneral Miles at the salvage of the then almost new steamerQueen of the Pacific (330 ft (100.58 m))[6] in 1883 when that vessel grounded on theClatsop Spit.[5][7]Queen of the Pacific was stranded while trying to cross theColumbia Bar on September 5, 1883. Five tugs were called out, includingGeneral Miles,Pioneer,Brenham,Astoria, andColumbia, and with great effort they were able to save the ship.[8] ISN kept theGeneral Miles on the Astoria-Ilwaco route until 1889, when the vessel was sold toPortland Coast and Steamship Company and transferred to Coos Bay to operate as a tug.[1][2]
Capt. Herbert F. Beecher (b. 1853) purchasedGeneral Miles.[9] Beecher, doing business as theIsland Transportation Company, renamed the vesselWillapa, and ran it onPuget Sound[1][2] Beecher left the business however after his steamerJ.H. Libby burned on November 10, 1889.[1] It is reported thatWillapa took the place ofJ.H. Libby for a time, carrying passengers and freight betweenPort Townsend and theSan Juan Islands.
Willapa was returned to Portland in 1890, where, in work completed in 1891, the vessel underwent a substantial reconstruction. The hull was cut in two, and an additional section 36 ft (10.97 m) was inserted in the middle, with the resulting hull being 136 ft (41.45 m) long.
In 1894,Willapa was leased by theHastings Steamboat Company.[1]
On January 21, 1895, theAlaska Steamship Company was organized by a group of Seattle business and steamboatmen.[5] At that time, the Alaska trade was dominated by thePacific Coast Steamship Company. The first vessel purchased by Alaska Steam was theWillapa, which, following an extensive overhaul and refitting, departed on her first Alaska trip from theSchwabacher Brothers wharf on March 3, 1895, returning two weeks later on March 17.Willapa carried 79 passengers, 23 horses, and several hundred tons of cargo. A rate war then ensued with the Pacific Coast company, forcing Pacific Coast to cut its rates by more than 50%.
On March 19, 1897, at 2:30 a.m., bound forMary Island, Alaska,Willapa was proceeding in a heavy snow storm inSeaforth Channel, a part of theInside Passage, when the vessel struck ground on Regatta Reef. The passengers were removed without casualty by a schooner and local canoes manned byFirst Nations people. Much freight was also salvaged, but several head of horses could not be rescued and were therefore shot. Although originally considered a total loss, laterWillapa was purchased from the underwriters by Canadian interests, removed from the reef, and repaired.[5]
Subsequently,Willapa came into the control of theCanadian-Pacific Navigation Company, one of the dominant shipping companies on the coast of British Columbia and in theAlaskan Panhandle.[10] This company usedWillapa as a relief boat on various routes, including the service to includingClayoquot on the west coast ofVancouver Island.[10]
In November 1902, Capt. C.E. Curtis in association with theBellingham Bay Transportation Company, acquiredWillapa from the Canadian-Pacific Navigation Company, and renamed the shipBellingham.[5][10][11] During 1903, the rapidly growingPuget Sound Navigation Co. acquired Bellingham Transportation Company, butDode andWillapa did not go to PSN operational control until the spring of 1904.[11]
It is also reported that Canadian-Pacific soldWillapa to theThompson Steamship Company before the vessel came into the ownership of Puget Sound Navigation Co.[2] Thompson Steamship was aPort Angeles concern run by the Thompson brothers, includingJohn Rex Thompson.[12] John Rex Thompson was a business ally of C.E. Curtis. A news report from late 1902 stated thatWillapa was to be purchased by a syndicate headed by John Rex Thompson.[13] In May 1904, allegations were made in court of financial malfeasance and breach of trust by C.E. Curtis, causing Bellingham Bay Transportation Co., a company owned by local farmers, to become financially insolvent.[14]
On return to Puget Sound,Bellingham was placed on the Seattle –Bellingham route, which included through service by local steamer from Bellingham toBlaine andPoint Roberts. Running againstBellingham were theUtopia and the old sidewheelerGeorge E. Starr, both owned by thePuget Sound Navigation Company.[5]
On December 6, 1903, in heavy fog,Bellingham was towing the steamerDode toWhatcom for repairs, the vessels still being run by the Bellingham Bay company. The fast steamerFlyer pulled away from theSeattle dock en route toTacoma and five minutes laterBellingham collided withFlyer.Dode, under tow and unable to manoeuvre, also collided withFlyer.Flyer was badly, but not irreparably damaged.Bellingham sustained only light damage. No one on any vessel was injured.[5][15] Shortly after this incidentBellingham was transferred to the control of theInland Navigation Company, which was owned by businessman Charles E. Peabody and associates. For a short time after this acquisition,Bellingham was placed on the Seattle –Port Townsend route, running under Capt. Howard Penfield, a cousin of Charles Peabody. The vessel was then placed on a route between the Washington ports along theStrait of Juan de Fuca, includingPort Angeles.Clallam Bay, and, later,Neah Bay.Bellingham replaced theAlice Gertrude when that vessel sank after striking a rock in Clallam Bay on January 11, 1907. At this time Capt. Charles E Kastrom (d.1917) took over command ofBellingham and remained her principal captain until his unexpected death in 1917 following a heart attack while at the helm of the steamerWaialeale[5][11]
When, in 1903, thePuget Sound Navigation Company purchased Thompson Steamship Co.,Bellingham became the flagship of the PSN fleet.[2] This ship, when rebuilt and in service asBellingham in the early 1900s, was reported to have a "ghost whistle" which was described as a low moaning sound heard when the vessel was working through a heavy sea.[5]
In 1908,Joshua Green, president of thePuget Sound Navigation Company, explored the possibility of returningBellingham to Canadian service to run against theCanadian Pacific's steamships that were operating on the profitableVancouver –Victoria route. For a long time, it had been the law in Canada that a former Canadian vessel could be returned to Canadian service without having to pay acustoms duty, and as a former Canadian vessel,Bellingham would qualify. However, nothing came of this plan when it was determined that the Canadian law had changed, and a duty of 25% of the vessel's value would be imposed ifBellingham were to be returned to Canadian service.[10]
In 1909Bellingham's principal owner was listed as theStraits Steamship Company.[3]
By 1918, the boilers onBellingham were considered too worn out for the vessel to be of any further service as a powered ship. The fittings and machinery were therefore removed and scrapped by the firm of Neider & Marcus. In March 1919Bellingham was sold to H.C. Strong who was doing business as the Sunny Point Packing Company. The powerless vessel was taken to theKing and Winge shipyard inWest Seattle which converted the ship into an unpowered sailing barge which still retained the nameBellingham. Adonkey engine with steam driven by a vertical boiler was installed, which powered two cargo hoists. The vessel was also rigged with auxiliary sails, although these appear to not have been used very much.[5]
In 1922Bellingham's owners determined that the vessel could be put to better uses. The vessel was taken to theLake Union Drydock and Machine Works in Seattle where a 200 horsepower (150 kW)Fairbanks-Morsesemi-diesel engine was installed. The upper works were also extensively reconfigured and the vessel was again equipped to run fromSeattle toKetchikan and other ports of the Inside Passage. In this service the vessel was operated under the nameNorco by theNorthland Transportation Company. In the late 1920s the vessel was briefly owned by a Ketchikan concern known asCitizen's Light and Power Company, which was a part of thepublic utility empire assembled by businessmanWilbur B. Foshay (1881-1957).[5]
From 1941 to 1946 the vessel was owned by Ketchikan Cold Storage, and then was purchased by Otis Shively. The vessel then was presented to thePuget Sound Maritime Historical Society to be used in the annualSeafair celebration in Seattle, to be burned in a public ceremony in the summer of 1950 as "Neptune's" barge. The vessel was loaded up with fireworks and other inflammable materials, and towed into Elliott Bay by the tugGoliah and set on fire. Although the vessel burned for hours, it proved difficult to sink. Only when the fireboatDuwamish filled up the vessel with water at high-pressure did the hull finally go under the water during night, offAlki Point.[5][16]
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See also:Puget Sound mosquito fleet | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1903 | |
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| Other incidents |
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