 Northerner Wrecked onCenterville Beach | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Owner | Pacific Mail Steamship Company |
| Builder | William H. Brown,New York City[1] |
| In service | 1847[2] |
| Out of service | 6 January 1860[1] |
| Fate | Wrecked |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Mail Steamer |
| Tonnage | 1,000[1] |
| Length | 203.6 ft (62.1 m)[2] |
| Decks | 2[2] |
| Propulsion | Side-lever byNovelty Iron Works |
| Masts | 3[2] |
SSNortherner was the firstpaddle steamer lost in operations by thePacific Mail Steamship Company.
Northerner was built in 1847 byWilliam H. Brown, ofNew York City, as a companion to the SSSoutherner for the Spofford & Tileston Company's line of steamers servingCharleston, South Carolina and the East Coast of the United States.[1] In 1850,Northerner was sold to a Mr. Howard and sent to the Pacific under Captain Waterman. Subsequently, purchased by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company she was initially placed in service betweenSan Francisco andPanama.[3]
In January, 1851,Northerner arrived from San Francisco with $2,600,000 in gold dust and treasure on board, and carrying 500 passengers.[5] In August, 1851Northerner broke the shaft of her starboard wheel soon after leaving Panama. She completed the voyage to San Francisco using only one paddle wheel, in 22 days, arriving September 8, 1851, with 20 tons of freight and 350 passengers, including mutineers from the passenger shipCommodore Stockton[6] who had to be clapped in irons for disorderly conduct by the captain.[7]
After 1853, theNortherner was placed on a more northerly route, carrying mails and passengers between San Francisco and Oregon as far as theColumbia River and the gold fields atFraser River,[8] arriving for the first time on September 3, 1858.[9]
On October 10, 1858, southbound from Olympia to San Francisco,Northerner was hit broadside by the Steam TugResolute in Dana's Straits. Since thousands of dollars of damage was done to both vessels,[10] and it was a clear night in a mile-wide passage, the ship owners filed cross-suits in the Washington Territorial Courts.[11] The owners of theResolute were unsatisfied with the Washington's court decision, and filed their case in the U.S. Supreme Court.[12]
Northerner sailed for the last time from San Francisco with 108 persons on board at the time of the wreck, 58 passengers and 53 crew.[13] The ship hit a submerged rock and wrecked on January 6, 1860, onCenterville Beach, California,[13] a few miles south of the entrance toHumboldt Bay. Thirty-eight people died: 17 were passengers and 21 crew.[13] One of those who died was Francis Blomfield, son of the late Bishop of London,Charles James Blomfield. Seventy others made their way through crashing surf to shore[13] and were aided by local people includingSeth Kinman andArnold Berding.[14]
TheCenterville Beach Cross marks the resting place of some of the victims whose bodies were recovered.[15]
In December 1863, the U.S. Supreme Court (68 U.S. 682), ruledNortherner was at fault for steering across the path of theResolute.[12]
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| Other incidents |
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40°34′21.94″N124°21′22.71″W / 40.5727611°N 124.3563083°W /40.5727611; -124.3563083
