''Clara Brown'' was a sternwheel steamboat of the
Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet which operated from the late 1880s to the early 1900s, and possibly as late as 1930.
Career
''Clara Brown'' was built in 1886 by Hiram Doncaster, for Capt. Thomas Brown, the owner of the
Brown Wharf and Navigation Company. The vessel was named for Captain Brown's daughter. The vessel was placed in service on the
Henderson Bay route in south
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
and surrounding areas, serving communities such as
Olympia,
Kalmiche,
Shelton,
Steilacoom,
Tacoma, and
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. The vessel became famous as the first one to reach Seattle with relief supplies after the great Seattle file in June 1889.
References
* Affleck, Edwin L, ed. ''A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska'', Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC (2000)
* Findlay, Jean Cammon and Paterson, Robin, ''Mosquito Fleet of Southern Puget Sound'', (2008) Arcadia Publishing
1886 ships
Steamboats of Washington (state)
Passenger ships of the United States
Sternwheelers of Washington (state)
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