T. J. Potter

The "T.J. Potter" was a steamboat that operated in the Northwestern United States. The boat was launched in 1888. Her upper cabins came from the steamboat "Wide West". This required some modification, because the "T.J. Potter" was a side-wheeler, whereas the "Wide West" had been a stern-wheeler. The boat's first owner was the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

Design and construction

The "T.J. Potter", commonly referred to as the "Potter", was built entirely of wood by a firm owned by John F. Steffan. She was built for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.Affleck, Edward L., "A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest", the Yukon, and Alaska, page 26, Vancouver, B.C., Alexander Nicolls Press (2000) ISBN 0-9200-08-X] She was launched at Portland, Oregon in 1888. She was propelled by two non-condensing steam engines, with 32" cylinders, each with an eight foot stroke, and generating (together or singly is not sure) 1,700 horsepower. Her single boiler and firebox were built in 1887 by the Pusey & Jones Company, of Wilmington, Delaware. The boiler was 32 feet long with a diameter of 84 inches. Her gross tonnage was 659 and her net tonnage was 589. As built, the "Potter" was 230 feet long, with a beam of 35 feet, and depth of hold of 10 1/2 feet.* [http://www.hhpl.on.ca/GreatLakes/scripts/Page.asp?PageID=1872 Maritime History of the Great Lakes (includes information on non-Great Lakes boats, including sketches and specifications of "T.J. Potter". Accessed 11/14/07/] ] Her U.S. registry number was 145489.

Construction of the "Potter" was supervised by Captain James W. Troup, one of the most famous steamboat captains in the West. On May 26 1888, the same year the "Potter" was built, Captain Troup had brought the sternwheeler "Hassalo" over a six-mile stretch of rapids called the Cascades of the Columbia during low water, reaching speeds of 50 miles an hour in the process. [O,Neil, Paul, "The Rivermen", pages 138-39, Time-Life Books, Chicago, IL (1975) ISBN 0-8094-1498-8]

When built, the "Potter" had a reputation as one of the fastest and most luxurious steamboats in the Pacific Northwest:

Operation on Puget Sound

The first season after she was launched, her owners put her on the tourist run from Portland to Astoria, Oregon. In August 1888, the "Potter" made the run from Portland to Astoria in 5 hours and 31 minutes. By comparison, the fastest steamboat on the Columbia River at that time was the "Potter"'s competitor "Telephone", which on July 2 1887 had made the 105 mile run from Portland to Astoria in 4 hours and 34 minutes.Timmen, Franz: "Blow for the Landing, A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West", at 50, 133, 139-40, and 174, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1973 ISBN 0-87004-221-1]

After that, she was transferred to Puget Sound to compete with another famous steamboat, the "Bailey Gatzert", which was owned by the Seattle Steam Navigation and Transportation Company. The "Bailey" was a stern-wheeler, and did better in the Sound than the sidewheeler "Potter," which rolled from side to side in swells, raising first one paddle wheel then the other out of the water.

Even so, the "T.J. Potter" was one of the fastest steamboats on Puget Sound, and is reported in 1890 to have bested the famous sternwheeler "Bailey Gatzert" in a race. The "Potter" was also reported to have set a record time of 82 minutes on the run from Seattle to Tacoma. [Newell, Gordon, and Williamson, Joe, "Pacific Steamboats", page 28, Superior Publishing, New York, NY (1958)] While operating out of Puget Sound, the "Potter", along with many other local steamboats, helped fight the Great Seattle Fire of 1889:

Return to Columbia River

Eventually the "Potter" was transferred back to the Columbia River for good. She was placed on the Portland-Astoria run, where she competed with steamboats owned by the Shaver Transportation Company. The "Potter"'s owners, Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, struck an anti-competitive deal with Shaver Transportation, whereby the Shaver boats, including the "Sarah Dixon", would stay off the Portland-Astoria route in return for a monthly subsidy from Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. Other competitors of the "Potter" on the Portland-Astoria run included "Lurline" and "Georgiana".

Captain and crew

In 1901, Joe Turner was the captain of the "T.J. Potter". Other crew at apparently the same time, but whose positions are uncertain, included Al Gray (Faber, cited below, identifies Gray as captain), Julius Oliver, James Healey, Harry O. Staples, Ed Scott, Fred Ware, Claude Cooper, Wendell Smith, and Henry Hoffman.

Reconstruction

In 1901 the "Potter" was rebuilt, increasing her length by only a few feet but greatly increasing her weight. Her gross tonnage rose from 650 to 1017 tons, and her net tonnage from 590 to 826.Mills, Randall V., "Stern-wheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country", page 201, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE (1947)] The increased weight cut several knots off her speed. Her wheelhouse was rebuilt, and instead of a flat roof, she had a dome with flagpole. This was unique among Columbia River steamboats.

Following the rebuild (which cost $86,000), the "Potter"'s owners put her on the run from Portland to Ilwaco, Washington for connection with the narrow-gauge Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company, serving primarily the summer tourist trade. Feagans, Raymond J., "The Railroad that Ran by the Tide", at 49 and 80-81, Howell-North Books, Berkley, CA (1972) ISBN 0-8310-7094-3)]

Later years and abandonment

The "Potter" was refurbished in 1910, and continued in operation on the Portland-Ilwaco run. In the early 1990s, Professor Frederick Bracher recalled riding on the "Potter" from Portland to Ilwaco as a young child in 1915:

Just before the opening of the tourist season in 1916 the "Potter" was condemned for passenger use. The "Potter" was not replaced [Professor Bracher's mention that "Georgiana" replaced the "Potter" may refer only to the run from Portland to Astoria. No other source records another boat running directly from directly from Portland to Ilwaco after the "Potter's" retirement.] on the Portland-Ilwaco run, as there was insufficient passenger traffic to justify putting a new boat on the route.

The "Potter" then served as a barracks boat for construction crews until sometime in the early 1920s, when she was abandoned in Young's Bay near Astoria. She was reportedly burned for her metal, but this may not be correct. Faber publishes a photograph showing her abandoned, stripped of upper works, but with her hull substantially intact, with large metal components such as her rudder strap intact. (Faber, at page 155).

References

External links

* [http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/max&CISOPTR=2932&REC=1 Photo, remains of the T.J. Potter at Young's Bay, Oregon, taken July 14, 1957] This photograph shows the typical fate of wooden steam riverine vessels that managed to survive into the age of the automobile, that is, abandoned and rotting on an out of the way beach.
* [http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/viewer.exe?CISOROOT=/alaskawcanada&CISOPTR=1808&CISOMODE=thumb "T.J. Potter" and other large excursion boats at landing on Columbia River] This photograph is from an old colorized postcard. The view is towards the west, and shows "T.J. Potter" pulling away from a landing, probably just before entering the Cascade Locks. Another steamer, a sternwheeler, is in the foreground, this is possibly the "Charles Spencer." Coming up to the landing from the west another steamer can be seen, which from the vessel's apparent configuration and the white collar on her funnel, appears to be the "Bailey Gatzert". The large crowds on all the steamers are readily visible; this is an excellent depiction of the high point of steamboat operations on the river.
* [http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/transportation&CISOPTR=721&REC=5 "T.J. Potter" at wharf of Oregon Improvement Company, sometime between 1888 and 1901.] This photograph shows well the "T.J. Potter" before reconstruction including the ornate paddlewheel boxes.