Issaquah (steam ferry)

History
Issaquah in California service.
Name:	Issaquah
Owner:	Anderson Steamboat Company Rodeo-Vallejo Ferry Co.
Builder:	John L. Anderson (1868–1941)
Launched:	March 7, 1914
Maiden voyage:	May 2, 1914
General characteristics
Type:	steam ferry
Tonnage:	288
Length:	114.2 ft (34.81 m)
Beam:	38.2 ft (11.64 m)
Depth:	8.9 ft (2.71 m) depth of hold.
Installed power:	twin steam engines, 125 hp (93 kW) each.
Propulsion:	propellers
Capacity:	40 cars, 600 passengers
Crew:	six (6)

Issaquah was a steam ferry built in 1914 that operated on Lake Washington and in San Francisco Bay.

Design and construction

Issaquah was built in 1914 by Capt. John L. Anderson at his shipyard on Lake Washington at Houghton, Washington.^[1] On launching, Issaquah slid down the shipway and then became stuck in the mud, and had to be towed off.^[2] The vessel is reported to have been acquired by Anderson Steamboat Company at a cost $33,571 in May, 1914.^[3]

Captain Anderson was a prominent boatbuilder and steamboat operator on Lake Washington, and the Issaquah was the most elaborate vessel he had ever built. Issaquah was the first ferry built by a private owner in the Puget Sound region. Issaquah was also one of the first ferries in the region designed and constructed to transport automobiles. The upper deck included a hardwood dance floor which was used when the ferry was taken out on moonlight excursions.^[1]

Lake Washington service

Issaquah was placed on the route running from Leschi to Mercer Island and then to Newport. In 1891 the eastern terminus of this route connected to a road that ran to Lake Sammamish, Fall City, Preston, Issaquah, North Bend, and Snoqualmie, Washington. It is doubtful whether Issaquah ever carried the full licensed complement of automobiles when on Lake Washington.^[1]

California service

In 1917, the private ferry owners on Lake Washington, which meant Captain Anderson as a practical matter, were undercut by competition from King County.^[1] Another problem was that all of the company's docking facilities had to be reconstructed after the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1916 caused the level of the water in Lake Washington to be lowered by 9 feet (2.74 metres).^[2]

As a result of these difficulties, Anderson was forced to leave the private ferry business. On September 30, 1917, Issaquah ceased operations on Lake Washington. After being operated during the month of November 1917 by the Seattle Port Commission, the vessel was sold in early 1918 to the Rodeo-Vallejo Ferry System, operating in northern San Francisco Bay.^[2]

The ferry departed from Houghton on May 30, 1918, having first been boarded up and loaded with cord wood for use as fuel. Issaquah steamed out to Neah Bay, where more wood was taken on and the ferry was taken in tow to San Francisco Bay.^[4] Two men stayed on Issaquah during the tow, keeping steam up and running the vessel's propellers, as the tug was insufficiently powerful to accomplish the task alone. The ferry arrived in good condition and began service on the Carquinez Strait on July 4, 1918.^[2]

The ferry remained in service under the name Issaquah in the Vallejo-Martinez area until after World War II. After the Carquinez Bridge was completed in 1927, the ferry was shifted to the Mare Island routes from Vallejo, Martinez, and Benicia. In 1948 the ferry was purchased by D. J. Arques, owner of a Sausalito shipyard, for $1,000.^[2]

Issaquah can be seen in the 1965 Jimmy Stewart movie "Dear Brigitte" beached on the mud behind the Charles van Damme at the northern end of the Sausalito waterfront.

Disposition

The ferry ended up abandoned on a mud flat in Sausalito, California.^[1] In the 1970s the two pilot houses were salvaged from the mud flats and restored. They are the sole remnants of the vessel and as of 2011 are displayed as a museum attraction at 300 Napa Street, Sausalito, California.^[4]

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 Kline and Bayless, Ferryboats -- A Legend on Puget Sound, pages 150-51 and 339.
1 2 3 4 5 Issaquah Historical Society, Issaquah Ferry Chronology” (accessed 05-19-11).
↑ Public Service Comm'n vs. Anderson Steamboat Co., Case No. 4348, published in Eighth Annual Report of the Public Service Comm'n of Washington (1918), at page 179. (accessed 06-06-11)
1 2 Issaquah History Museum, “Issaquah Pilot Houses” (accessed 05-19-11).

References

Issaquah History Museum, “Issaquah Pilot Houses” (accessed 05-19-11). Gives history of vessel and has photographs of the two pilot houses, only surviving components of the ferry.
Issaquah Historical Society, Issaquah Ferry Chronology” (accessed 05-19-11)
Kline, M.S., and Bayless, G.A., Ferryboats -- A legend on Puget Sound, Bayless Books, Seattle, WA 1983 ISBN 0-914515-00-4
Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (1966)

Lake Washington steamboats and ferries

Landings	Leschi Park Madison Park Houghton

Particular vessels	Acme Aquilo Atlanta C.C. Calkins Chehalis Cyrene Elfin Elsinore Falcon Fortuna Issaquah Katherine King County MV Kirkland (ex-Tourist II) Kirkland Lady of the Lake Hattie Hansen L.T. Haas Leschi Otter Triton Urania

Locks and canals	Hiram M. Chittenden Locks Lake Washington Ship Canal

Geographic features	Lake Washington Lake Union Black River Duwamish River Cedar River Lake Sammamish

Builders and shipyards	Lake Washington Shipyard

Steamboats in other areas	Puget Sound Lake Washington Columbia River Oregon Coast Willamette River Yaquina Bay and river Coquille River Cowlitz River Grays Harbor Chehalis River Hoquiam River Willapa Bay Columbia River (Wenatchee Reach) Lake Crescent Arrow Lakes Upper Fraser River Skeena River

Steamboats of California

Particular vessels	Annie Abernathy Antelope Aquilo (yacht) City of Sacramento Bayocean Black Hawk Capital Captain Sutter Chrysopolis City of Seattle Delta King Delta Queen Eureka El Dorado El Primero George E. Starr Georgiana Goliah Hartford Governor Dana Issaquah Jack Hays Klamath (inland steamboat) Ocean Wave Magdalena McKim Mint Monarch New World Pioneer Rabboni Rosalie Sacramento San Rafael SS Senator Sitka Wallamet Washington Washoe Wilson G. Hunt Yosemite

Ferries of San Francisco Bay	Clinton Contra Costa Oakland Piedmont Solano Thoroughfare Transit Ukiah

Steamboat Lines	Aspinwall Steam Transportation Line California Steam Navigation Company Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company George A. Johnson & Company Pacific Mail Steamship Company Simmons, Hutchinson & Company

Water routes	California Coast Colorado River San Francisco Bay Sacramento River San Joaquin River

Steamboat owners and captains	Joseph Barnard Benjamin M. Hartshorne George A. Johnson William Leidesdorff Charles Minturn James Turnbull Issac Warren

Builders	Domingo Marcucci John G. North Henry Owens Austin Hills Patrick Henry Tiernan

Shipyards	Hunters Point North's Shipyard Potrero Point Rincon Point Steamboat Point Sutter Iron Works Tichenor's Ways Union Iron Works Yerba Buena Cove

Lists of vessels	List of Steamboats on the Colorado River List of Steamboats and Steam Ferries on San Francisco Bay List of Steamboats on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries

Steamboats in other areas	Columbia River Willamette River Oregon Coast Yaquina Bay and river Coquille River Cowlitz River Puget Sound Lake Washington Grays Harbor Chehalis River Hoquiam River Willapa Bay Columbia River (Wenatchee Reach) Lake Crescent Arrow Lakes Upper Fraser River Skeena River

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.