''Alert'' was a
sternwheeler steamboat which operated on the
Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...
, in
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, United States, from 1865 to 1875. Originally built for and owned by the
Willamette Steam Navigation Co., it was soon acquired by the
People's Transportation Company
The People's Transportation Company operated steamboats on the Willamette River and its tributaries, the Yamhill River, Yamhill and Tualatin River, Tualatin rivers, in the State of Oregon from 1862 to 1871. For a brief time this company operated ...
, a steamboat line which held a near-monopoly on Willamette River transportation. This vessel was rebuilt in 1871, and ran until 1875, when it was dismantled.
Construction and dimensions
''Alert'' was built at
Oswego, Oregon, in 1865 by the firm of Paquet & Brown, and launched on December 8, 1865.
''Alert'' was long, exclusive of the extension of the main deck over the stern, called the "fantail" on which the stern-wheel was mounted.
[ ''Alert'' had a beam (width) of and depth of hold of .][
''Alert'' measured out at 340.83 tons according to the official merchant vessel registry.] The official merchant vessel registry number was 1233.[
''Alert'' was driven by two single-cylinder steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with a cylinder bore of 16.5 inches and a piston stroke of 60 inches.][ In 1874, the steam engines of ''Alert'' developed 74 horsepower.
]
Operations
For Willamette Steam Navigation Company
''Alert'' made its trial trip on January 18, 1866.[ The initial officers of ''Alert'' were James Strang, master; Edward Fellows, engineer; H. H. Johnson, purser; Jerry Driscoll, mate.][
As of March 1866, ''Alert'' was operating on a daily run (Sundays excepted) from ]Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
to Oregon City
Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...
, departing from Vaughn's wharf at 7:00 a.m. under Capt. James Strang. At Oregon City, the route connected with the steamer ''Active'', which, under John T. Apperson, master, departed Mondays and Thursdays for Salem, Albany, Corvallis and downriver waypoints.[ At that time, ''Alert'' and ''Active'' were both owned by the Willamette Steam Navigation Company, of which D. W. Burnside was president.][
]
For People's Transportation Company
In December 1866, ''Alert'' was owned by the People's Transportation Company
The People's Transportation Company operated steamboats on the Willamette River and its tributaries, the Yamhill River, Yamhill and Tualatin River, Tualatin rivers, in the State of Oregon from 1862 to 1871. For a brief time this company operated ...
, of which Asa Alfred McCully (1818–1886) was president. Capt. Ephraim Weston Baughman took over as master after the steamer had been acquired by the People's Transportation Company.[ According to one source, in 1868, Baughman was succeeded by captains Joseph Kellogg and George A. Pease.][ Another, contemporaneous, source, states that Captain Kellogg was in charge of ''Alert'' on the Portland to Oregon City run as of December 1, 1866.
Under the winter shipping arrangements of the company, ''Alert'' departed Portland daily at 7:00 a.m., for Oregon City, where it connected with steamers running to points on the upper Willamette River, upstream from ]Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall in the Northwestern United States, northwestern United States, located on the Willamette River between Oregon City, Oregon, Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon. The largest waterfall in the Northwest ...
.[ The ''Reliance'' ran on Mondays and Thursdays to ]Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...
; the ''Fannie Patton'' ran to the same city on Tuesdays and Fridays; the ''Active'' ran every Wednesday for Harrisburg
Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
, Lancaster, and Eugene
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...
; and ''Union'' ran on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for Dayton
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
and Lafayette on the Yamhill River
The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast R ...
.[
In late September 1869, ''Alert'' used a bell to sound its arrival, in a dense fog, at the dock in Oregon City.] While bells were used for such purposes on Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
steamboats, this was departure from the tradition of Willamette River steamboats, which generally employed the steam whistle
A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system.
Operation
The whistle consists of the following main parts, as s ...
in lieu of a ship's bell
A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it.
Strikes Timing of shi ...
.[
On the Saturday morning before December 4, 1869, a steward on ''Alert'', a young man named Foote, committed suicide by jumping overboard and drowning.] Foote entered the ladies cabin, and as he went out, spoke to some women, telling them goodbye, and then immediately went to the stern of the boat and jumped over.[ Foote was reported to have been recently discharged from the East Portland Insane Asylum.][
]
Reconstruction and disposition
Sources appear to differ on the disposition of the steamer ''Alert''. According to one source, ''Alert'' was condemned in 1871.[ ''Alert'' was rebuilt and renamed ''E.N. Cooke''. Another (non-contemporaneous) source states that ''Alert'' was rebuilt in 1871 as the steamer ''E.N. Cooke'', U.S. merchant vessel registry number 8762.] Another source states that by June 1871, ''Alert'' had been broken up, with the machinery to be installed in a new boat.
Reconstruction
The steamer appears to have been rebuilt in 1871. In late March of that year, the People's Transportation Company was reported to be planning to build two new boats, one to replace ''Alert'' and another to replace ''Reliance''. The new boats were to be long, of 250 tons, designed after a model by Capt. Joseph Kellogg.[
In April 1871, "work had been commenced on the new steamer ''Alert'', which was expected to be the largest and best-furnished steamer ever to run between Oregon City and Portland. On June 2, 1871, the new ''Alert'' was reported to be almost ready to be launched. On Monday, June 12, 1871, the old ''Alert'' was taken out of service, to be dismantled so that the machinery could be placed in the new ''Alert''. The new ''Alert'' was reported to be in operation on Tuesday, August 22, 1871, carrying as cargo a large boiler from a repair shop in Portland to the woolen mills in ]Oregon City
Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...
.
Disposition
''Alert'' (#1233) and ''E.N. Cooke'' (#8762) were both listed separately on the 1874 merchant vessel registry. This continued to be the case three years later. By the next year, only ''E.N. Cooke'' was listed. ''Alert'' is recorded as having been dismantled in 1875.[
]
Notes
References
Printed sources
*
*
Newspaper collections
*
*
{{Willamette Steam Navigation Company
People's Transportation Company
Steamboats of the Willamette River
Ships built in Oregon