Steamboats of the Coquille River

The Coquille River runs inland from Bandon, Oregon, at the mouth of the river at the Pacific Ocean up the Coquille Valley. Before the era of railroads and later, automobiles, the steamboats on the Coquille River were the major mode of transportation from Bandon to Coquille and Myrtle Point in southern Coos County, Oregon, United States.

Business and population expansion

Jetty construction at the two jetties at the Coquille River entrance allowed ocean-going ships to enter the mouth of the river and dock at Bandon. Economic activity boomed in Bandon in the early 1900s. A steamship line connected Bandon with Portland and San Francisco. From 1905 to 1910, the population tripled to 1800. Bandon had five sawmills and two shipyards. [Gibbs, James A., "Oregon's Seacoast Lighthouses", at 49, Webb Research Group, Medford, OR 1992 ISBN 0-936738-57-X]

Rise of navigation by steamboats and other small vessels

As the river ran inland, it became so narrow that it was said that passengers could amuse themselves by leaning out the windows and picking flowers. William Russell Panter, a descendant of one of the first pioneer families in the area, was apparently one of the first to enter the inland steamboat business. Wm. R. Panter bought a small steamer, "Maria", and put her in service above Coquille, towing a boat hauling milk from farms to the first creamery on the Coquille River, which was about two miles up the river from Coquille. Panter later organized a run to the Timmons cannery in Bandon, towing a scow loaded with salmon caught by fishermen.Panter, William, "Early River Traffic on the Coquille," "Glancing Back (Pioneer Lore)", at 16-19, Vol. I, No. 1, Coos-Curry Pioneer and Historical Association, 1971]

By 1899, a boatyard owned by Arthur Ellingson at Prosper, Oregon, began producing steamboats, starting with the small (26 tons) propeller steamer "Reta", which operated on the Coquille and later on Coos Bay. In 1901, the Ellingson yard at Coquille built the sternwheeler "Echo" (76 tons), she ran for ten years under Captain J.W. McCloskey. Other boats in the early years of the century on the Coquille River included "Liberty", which also served in Coos Bay, and "Dispatch".Timmen, Fritz, "Blow for the Landing", at 199-201, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1973 ISBN 0-87004-221-1]

In 1900, S.H. McAdams, who owned a boatyard in Coquille, built the small (30 tons) sternwheeler "Welcome". Also that year, Ellingson turned out the propeller steamer "Favorite" and the gasoline propeller "Pastime". In 1901, Ellingson launched "Echo" and "J.Warren", a 10 ton propeller steamer, both for service on the Coquille. Also in 1901, C.H. James launched the 15 ton propeller steamer "Venus" at Coquille. In 1903, the gasoline powered "Nellie & Cressy" (12 tons) was built at Bandon. In 1903, Charles Trigg built "Dispatch" at Parkersburg, Oregon, for service on the Coquille River. After 1920, "Dispatch" was operated out of Marshfield as the "John Widdi" by the Coquille River Transportation Company.

In 1914, Carl Herman, who owned a boatyard at Prosper, Oregon, built the "Telegraph" for the Myrtle Point Transportation Company, which competed with the gasoline-powered propeller "Charm" on the Coquille River.Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 48, 61, 71 89, 92, 139, 149, 162, 207, 241-42, 268, 327, 344, and 355, Superior Publishing Co., Seattle WA 1966] "Telegraph" was (by one source) the last steamboat on the Coquille River. Her owners were able to secure a mail contract for her, but eventually the contract was re-awarded to truck route.

Various small boats were built on the Coquille River over the years, at Prosper, Parkersburg, Coquille, Randolph, and at the Hermann's ranch. These included "Myrtle W". (12 tons), built in 1912 at Randolph, and "Antelope", "Fawn", "Venus", and "Maple". Carl Herman built a lot of boats of various sizes at his yard at Prosper, including in 1907, "Sunset", (12 tons) and in 1909, "Star" (12 tons), built for passenger and towing services on the Coquille River.

Passengers and cargoes carried

Very large numbers of people were sometimes transported on the small riverboats. For one baseball game at Bandon, "Dispatch" came down from Coquille with about 400 people aboard, and "Telegraph" arrived with 150. At one point, "Telegraph" ran eight different Saturdays along the river to carry people to dances, sometimes at Prosper, sometimes at Parkersburg, Lampa and Riverton.

Coal mines in the area, served by the riverine craft, were at Lampa Creek, Panter's Ranch, Riverton, and Coquille. Coal was loaded onto ships bound for San Francisco. Early schools in the area were located at Bandon, Prosper, Randolph, Parkersburg, Lampa Creek, Riverton, Coquille, Arago, Myrtle Point, and Beaver Slough. The Pearcy Hanly ranch, across from Lampa Creek, shipped milk to Bandon on the river steamers for many years. There were a number of sawmills, salmon canneries, and other concerns along the river, including a woolen mill and a match factory at Bandon, all of which seem to have been served by the river boats.

Rivalry among steamboat owners

In 1914, "Telegraph" (96 tons), the largest sternwheeler ever to serve on the Coquille, was built for the Myrtle Point Transportation Co., and launched at Prosper. She was 103' long, 16.2' on the beam, and with 3.2' depth of hold. Her engines had 9" cylinders with 42" stroke, developing 250 horsepower. She was built to outcompete the gasoline-powered "Charm", which in turn had been placed on the river to beat the old "Myrtle", a considerably less powerful boat than "Telegraph". Competition was keen on the Coquille, as a few months after entering service, "Telegraph" somehow managed to run "Charm" up on the beach near a narrow spot in the river above Bandon.

Decline and end of riverine transport

The Ellingson yard built "Relief" in 1916, a 44 ton passenger and freight boat, which turned out to be the last new sternwheeler built on the Coquille River.

In 1924, the gasoline launch "Charm" was taken off the Coquille River route, and sold to Shaver Transportation Company, who re-equipped her with a 90 horsepower diesel engine and put her in service as a log boom boat.

The Myrtle Point Transportation Company owned the last riverboats on the Coquille. Stockholders of the company were Russell Panter, Walter Panter, William A. Panter, Paris Ward, and the Huffard brothers. Paris Ward owned a ranch near Bandon, and as the demand for riverine transport ended, the Panter family's boats were abandoned at the shore of his ranch, where by 1971 what remained of their hulls had filled up with sand..

Links to photos of the steamboat graveyard at the Ward ranch, all taken on June 26, 1941, showing "Myrtle", "Telegraph", and "Dora" beached along the Coquille River near Bandon. Note that while the Salem Public Library Images do not identify these steamers, Marshall does in his book and provides a photograph of the same place, at a slightly different time:Marshall, Don, Oregon Shipwrecks, at 220, Binford and Mort Publishing, Portland, OR 1984 ISBN 0-8323-430-1] "Myrtle" was apparently abandoned further inshore than "Telegraph". This may explain why it appears that only two boats ar abandoned on shore in photos taken from the water. Panter also identifies the three abandoned sternwheelers by name.
* [http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/max&CISOPTR=4359&REC=1 Abandoned sternwheeler on the Coquille River, probably "Telegraph", 1941]
* [http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/max&CISOPTR=4372&REC=16 Another view of same abandoned sternwheeler on Coquille River, showing a second vessel on the right]
* [http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/max&CISOPTR=4374&REC=18 Third photo of abandoned sternwheeler and other vessel, from different angle]

List of vessels on Coquille River

ee also

*Coquille River Light
*Steamboats of the Oregon Coast

External links

Nautical charts

* [http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/18588.shtml Coastal Survey chart (no. 18588) showing mouth of Coquille River]
* [http://www.coastalatlas.net/learn/settings/estuary/estuary.asp?es=15 Oregon Coastal Atlas: Coquille River Estuary]

Coos Art Museum

* [http://www.coosart.org/victorwest/2006/fairgrounds_gallery.html Victor West Collection of the Coos Art Museum] Many good photographs of steamboats and small craft on Coos Bay and the Coquille River.

References