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''Princess Louise'' was a sidewheel steamboat built in 1869. From 1869 to 1879 this ship was named ''Olympia''. In 1879 the name was changed to ''Princess Louise'', after
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a s ...
, a daughter of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
who was married to
Marquess of Lorne Duke of Argyll () is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland ...
(1845–1914),
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...
from 1878 to 1883. ''Princess Louise'' was the last sidewheeler to be operated commercially on the coast of British Columbia.


Design and construction

''Olympia'' was built in 1869 in New York City by John English and Sons to the order of George S. Wright, a pioneer steamboat man on
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 ...
. The ship was long, with a beam of and depth of hold of . The hull was built of seasoned
white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...
. Wright, E.W., ed. ''Lewis and Dryden Marine History'', at page 171.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at pages 337 and 338. Power was supplied by single-cylinder walking beam type
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
, manufactured by
John Roach & Sons John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building mo ...
. The cylinder was in diameter and had a stroke of 11 feet (132 inches). The engine generated 350
horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...
. Overall size of the vessel was 971 gross tons, and, as of 1874, 493 registered tons. The ship had an auxiliary sailing rig as a
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
.Newell, ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', at pages 53-54. The official United States steamboat registry number was 19297.U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Bureau of Statistics, ''Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States'' (for year ending June 30, 1874).
(accessed 7-16-11), at page 255.
Construction of ''Olympia'' was supervised by Capt. James Bolger, who commanded the vessel in the 75-day delivery voyage around
Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
. ''Olympia'' arrived in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
on November 19, 1869. Continuing north, ''Olympia'' arrived at the city of Olympia on December 3, 1869.


Operations

On December 7, 1869, ''Olympia'' was employed on the Olympia-Victoria route for the first time, running under the ownership of the Finch and Wright partnership. ''Olympia'' was a replacement for the older and slower ''Eliza Anderson'', a vessel once so profitable that it became known as the "floating gold mine", which the partnership then used as a reserve boat. In April 1870, the partnership suffered a business reverse when the mail contract was lost to Capt. J.T. Nash, who had submitted an annual bid of $12,000 to carry mail on weekly runs to
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
and on a semi-weekly route between Olympia and Port Townsend, Washington Territory. Nash, who was to take over the mail contract on July 1, 1870, prepared by purchasing and reconstructing the half-completed sidewheeler ''Tacoma''. To do this, Nash secured the financial backing of two successful businessmen from
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, Edwin A. and Louis A. Starr. When the rebuilding of ''Tacoma'' was complete, the vessel was renamed ''Alida'', and the Starrs were in full ownership of the vessel. They also assumed Nash's interest in the mail contract. Nash took over running a smaller vessel, ''Varuna'', in alliance the Starrs. Once Edwin Starr acquired his master's license, the Starr brothers bought another steamer, ''Isabel'', which was somewhat larger than ''Alida'', and was considered one of the most seaworthy vessels on the coast.Carey, ''The Steamboat Landing on Elliott Bay'', at pages 28 to 32.


1871 steamboat race

To meet the challenge of the Starrs, the Wright and Finch partnership brought out ''Eliza Anderson'' as their primary vessel and undercut the Starrs on passenger fares and freight rates. ''Isabel'' proved to be a speedier vessel than ''Anderson'' and so Wright and Finch substituted ''Olympia'' in the competition against the Starrs. The Starrs however responded by commissioning Joseph Gates, a well-regarded engineer on Columbia river steamboats, to design and build a steamer which would run faster and cheaper than ''Olympia''. This vessel, which was named the ''North Pacific'', was constructed at the Gates and Colyer shipyard in San Francisco, and launched on May 18, 1871. Capt. Dan Morrison brought ''North Pacific'' into the
Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The Canada–United States border, international boundary between Canada and the ...
on June 23, 1871. For a few days after that, ''North Pacific'' was engage in trial trips. Meanwhile, Finch, in command of ''Olympia'' was preparing for a race to show the public which steamboat was superior. Finch went so far as to have the coal lumps on ''Olympia'' sorted into uniform sizes. On June 27, 1871, ''Olympia'' and ''North Pacific'' were both at Victoria, with ''Olympia'' scheduled to depart for Port Townsend in the morning, with ''North Pacific'' making the same run in the afternoon. Intending to challenge ''North Pacific'' that day, Finch delayed departure of ''Olympia'' but kept steam up in the boiler. Word spread around Victoria, which tended to favor ''Olympia'', that a race was impending, and bets were made favoring ''Olympia'' at 10 to 1 over ''North Pacific''. The Starrs meanwhile tried to lower expectations by telling people that their ship was not yet ready for racing. When ''North Pacific'' cast off lines, ''Olympia'' did likewise, and followed ''North Pacific'' out of Victoria harbor. As ''North Pacific'' made a south-easterly course for Point Wilson, of open water away from Victoria, ''Olympias
firemen A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as Dangerous goods, hazardous material incide ...
poured on the coals, causing clouds of black smoke to spew out of the ship's smokestack. ''Olympia'', the heavier, oak-built vessel, was favored over the long open stretch, whereas ''North Pacific'' was thought to be able to better in the narrower waters near Point Wilson. The resulting race between the two vessels, each of which was almost new, and represented the highest point of technical achievement for the time, was long remembered by the people on board the ships and alongside the wharves of Victoria and Port Townsend. Over most of the run, the two steamers ran almost side by side at maximum speed. But as the neared Point Wilson, ''North Pacific'' drew ahead, reaching Port Townsend in 2 hours and 41 minutes, 13 minutes and four miles (6 km) ahead of ''Olympia''. Finch and Wright soon composed their differences with the Starrs, who bought the Finch and Wright dock and warehouse in Olympia. In addition, in a typical anti-competitive agreement of the time, paid Finch and Wright a subsidy to keep ''Olympia'' off the Victoria route. Finch and Wright then withdrew ''Olympia'' to California. ''Olympia'' was based in California for the next seven years and managed to collect another subsidy from a California rival in return for staying out of competition. During this time ''Olympia'' made a voyage to Hawaii.


Canadian service

By 1878, the Starrs had paid $50,000 to ''Olympias owners, and they decided to terminate the subsidy. ''Olympia'' was then returned to
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 was then under the ownership of George S. Wright. At that time, the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
(HBC) was engaged in a competitive struggle with
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American and Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of his fourth novel '' Th ...
, who had recently purchased the former Gold Rush steamer '' Wilson G. Hunt''. To beat the ''Hunt'', the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
HBC bought ''Olympia'' from Wright for $75,000.Turner, ''Pacific Princess'', at pages 4 through 7. The ship was reregistered in Canada and assigned Canadian registry #72682.The New Mills' List, "Registered Canadian Steamships 1817–1930 over 75 feet"
(accessed 06-17-11)
HBC operated ''Olympia'' under the ship's original name until May 1879, when it changed the name to ''Princess Louise'', after
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a s ...
(1848–1939), a daughter of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, who was married to
Marquess of Lorne Duke of Argyll () is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland ...
(1845–1914),
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...
from 1878 to 1883.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at page 77. In the summer of 1879, competition between ''Princess Louise'' and the ''Hunt'' drove rates down on the routes between Vancouver Island and the mainland. In August 1879 ''Princess Louise'' ran an excursion around Vancouver Island, which was possibly the first such cruise to take place. In 1880, HBC and Irving settled the rate war. In a monopolistic arrangement which became known as the "'arf and 'arf agreement", HBC ships would carry passengers to and from New Westminster, where they would transfer to an Irving-owned stternwheeler for the trip up river to the head of navigation at
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
. This was a suitable arrangement for the ''Princess Louise'' because as a sidewheeler the ship required improved docking facilities that were not available upriver from New Westminster. In the late summer of 1880, when word reached Victoria that the steamship ''Otter'' had wrecked five miles (8 km) out of Bella Bella on August 19, 1880, ''Princess Louise'' was sent to the scene with the Lloyd's agent and HBC officials on board in an attempt to salvage ''Otter''. This proved to be not possible, and ''Princess Louise'' was forced to return to Victoria with as much cargo as could be salvaged from the Otter.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at pages 70-71. In May 1881, the Canadian Pacific was anxiously recruiting as many laborers as it could for the difficult work of completing the transcontinental rail line down the valley of the Fraser River. ''Princess Louise'' transported the first group of laborers, who had been recruited from San Francisco and from China to
New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...
on March 25, 1881.


Transfer of ownership

In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company was incorporated. Although the stated capital was $500,000, divided into 5,000 shares valued at $100 each, the actual paid-up capital was only $336,000, divided in 3,360 shares at $100 per share. Most of the shares were controlled indirectly by John Irving, but the Hudson's Bay Company was also allocated a total 1,150 shares. This was in return for transferring ownership of three HBC steamships, including the ''Princess Louise'' to the new company, with 750 shares specifically allocated to the ''Princess Louise''.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at pages 94 to 96. ''Princess Louise'' began its first trip for the new company on March 13, 1883, steaming under Capt. William McCulloch, from Victoria, to
Alert Bay Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, near the town of Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island, in the Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statist ...
,
Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...
, Metlakatla, Port Simpson, the
Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose na ...
,
Wrangell, Alaska Wrangell (, ) is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a consolidated city–county ...
and way ports along the route. On May 4, 1883, the new company announced that ''Princess Louise'' would be put on a regular route from Victoria to
Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...
and
Port Moody, British Columbia Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south ...
.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at page 99. Also in 1883, ''Princess Louise'' was refitted with new boilers, manufactured by Albion Iron Works of Victoria. Other overhaul work was completed and the ship was returned to service before the beginning of 1884.Turner, ''Pacific Princesses'', at page 11 and 12. In October 1887, the mayor of Vancouver, which then was the second largest city in British Columbia next to Victoria, tried to discourage visitors to Vancouver Island by denouncing ''Princess Louise'' as unseaworth. John Irving felt this went too far, and he threatened to sue the mayor for libel. He also banned the mayor from travel on any of the company's ships.Turner, ''Pacific Princesses'', at pages 16 and 18. From 1886 to 1890, ''Princess Louise'' was operated on northern routes, serving among other communities the many cannery ports in coastal British Columbia. In 1898, ''Princess Louise'' was used like many other ships on the west coast to carry gold seekers to the Klondike goldfields.Turner, ''Pacific Princesses'', at pages 30 and 32. On August 16, 1890, ''Princess Louise'' developed a serious leak which forced the ship to return to Victoria. ''Princess Louise'' was replaced on the route by ''Islander''.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at pages 111, 114, and 133. In 1895 ''Princess Louise'' was estimated to be worth $35,000. In September 1898, ''Princess Louise'' returned to Victoria carrying 8,100 cases of canned salmon from Alert Bay, but on this trip there had been a fatal accident. Three of the crew had fallen overboard when they were leaning on a railing posing for a photograph. They were washed beneath the sidewheel and never seen again.Turner, ''Pacific Princesses'', at page 35./


Canadian Pacific Railway

In 1901, the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
purchased the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company and all its ships, including ''Princess Louise''.Hacking and Lamb, ''The Princess Story'', at pages 189, 192, and 203-204. The name of ''Princess Louise'' inspired the Canadian Pacific to name a new series of coastal liners as "''Princesses''". In 1901, Capt. James W. Troup reported that ''Princess Louise'' was in poor mechanical condition, with worn out boilers and engines badly in need of repair. Because the hull was still in good condition, and capable of being operated in the often-dangerous waters of the
Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United Stat ...
, Troup recommended that the engines be replaced. This however was not done. Even so, the CPR did use ''Princess Louise'' in the winter to replace the sternwheeler ''R.P. Rithet'' on the route from Victoria to New Westminster and points on the lower Fraser River. In the summers, the ''Princess Louise'' was a secondary vessel on northern routes to
Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and th ...
,
Port Simpson, British Columbia A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchest ...
, and the
Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The islands are separ ...
. Ships on this route departed Victoria twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th at 11:00 p.m., and stopped in Vancouver the next day on the way north.Turner, ''Pacific Princesses'', at pages 39-40.


Disposition

In November 1906 ''Princess Louise'' was sold to Marpole McDonald of Victoria, who removed the machinery and converted the vessel to a barge.Turner, ''Pacific Princesses'', at page 92. In 1908 McDonald sold the barge to Vancouver Dredging and Salvage Company. In 1916, the barge was sold again to Britannia Mining and Smelting Company, which in turn, in 1917, sold the barge to Whalen Pulp and Paper Co., which in the same year beached the hull on
Howe Sound Howe Sound (, ) is a roughly triangular sound (geography), sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021. Geography Howe Sound ...
at
Woodfibre, British Columbia Woodfibre, originally Britannia West, was a pulp mill and at one time a small company town, on the west side of upper Howe Sound near Squamish, British Columbia. The mill closed in March 2006. History In 1912, a mill opened at the site where Mi ...
. The unpowered vessel is also reported to have sunk a considerable distance away from Woodfibre, at
Port Alice, British Columbia Port Alice is a village of approximately 739 (2021 census) located on Neroutsos Inlet, southwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural environ ...
in 1919 on northern
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
.


Notes


References

* Carey, Roland, ''The Steamboat Landing on Elliott Bay'', Alderbrook Publishing, Seattle, WA 1962 (no ISBN) * Faber, Jim, ''Steamer's Wake -- Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River'', Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 * Hacking, Norman R., and Lamb, W. Kaye, ''The Princess Story -- A Century and A Half of West Coast Shipping'', Mitchell Press, Vancouver BC (1974) * Newell, Gordon R. ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966) * Newell, Gordon R., ''Ships of the Inland Sea -- The Story of the Puget Sound Steamboats'', Binford & Mort (2d Ed. 1960) * Newell, Gordon R., and Williamson, Joe D., ''Pacific Coastal Liners'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (Bonanza Books ed. 1959) (no ISBN) * Turner, Robert D., ''Pacific Princesses – An Illustrated History of Canadian Pacific Railway's Princess Fleet on the Pacific Northwest Coast'', Sono Nis Press, Victoria, B.C., 1977


See also

{{Hudson's Bay Company Steamships of Canada Ships built in New York City 1869 ships Steamboats of Washington (state) Sidewheel steamboats of Washington (state) Paddle steamers of British Columbia Paddle steamers of the United States Passenger ships of the United States Fraser River Ships of CP Ships Hudson's Bay Company ships