S.G. Simpson (sternwheeler)

The steamboat "S.G.Simpson" operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. This vessel was later renamed "E.G. English".Newell, Gordon R., ed., "H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest", at 140, 343, 374 and 386, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966 ISBN 0875642209]

Construction

"S.G. Simpson" was designed by Capt. Ed Gustafson and built in 1907 at Tacoma, Washington by the shipyard of Crawford and Reid for the Shelton Transportation Company, to replace "City of Shelton" on the Olympia-Shelton route. She was a sternwheeler, 115.2 feet long, 26.3' on the beam, with 6.1' depth of hold, and rated at 190 tons. [McCurdy, at 140] "S.G. Simpson" was named after Solomon Grout Simpson, a prominent man in the logging business in Shelton and Mason County. "S.G. Simpson" was launched into the water not fully complete, as some sternwheelers, such as "Bailey Gatzert" had been, but with only her hull completed, with her upper works and paddlewheel added later. "S.G. Simpson" made 15 miles an hour on her trial run. [Newell, Gordon R., and Williamson, Joe, "Pacific Steamboats", at 60, Bonanza Books, New York, NY 1958 (showing photographs of launching of "S.G. Simpson", trial run, and at Olympia’s Percival Dock with the sternwheelers "Multnomah", "Greyhound". and the tug "Sand Man")] Newell, Gordon R., "Ships of the Inland Sea", at 3, 165-66, 169, Binford and Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960)]

Operations

"S.G. Simpson" ran on the Olympia-Shelton route for many years. [Newell and Williamson, "Pacific Steamboats", at 60] Her first master was Ed Gustafson, who served until his death. Later captains were George Melville and John Jones. [ [http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/20/Simpson-Investment-Company.html Simpson Investment Company - History, Background Information] (accessed 2/26/2008)] Exceptional skill was required to navigate the tricky waters of Hammersley Inlet leading to Shelton. "S.G. Simpson"’s nickname was "Sol G" and she was the last of the sternwheelers to run on the Shelton route, outlasting many other steamboats of the Mosquito Fleet.

In 1923, "S.G. Simpson" was chartered by Puget Sound Freight Lines to replace their new motor freighter "Rubaiyat", which had capsized and sunk in Tacoma harbor in late September after taking on a load of gypsum, killing four of her crew. In 1926 Puget Sound Freight Lines purchased "S.G. Simpson" outright, keeping on her officers, George Melville, master, John Jones, mate, John Leslie, Chief Engineer, and George Foss, purser.

In about 1927, Puget Sound Freight Lines sold "S.G. Simpson" to the Foss Company, replacing her with "Skookum Chief" (ex "K.L. Ames" ), a former sternwheeler rebuilt into a diesel propeller craft. Foss later sold "S.G. Simpson" to Martin Tjerne, of Stanwood who renamed her "E.G. English", removed her passenger cabin, and placed her on the Skagit River service as a towboat.

Disposition

By the early 1940s, the former "S.G. Simpson" had been abandoned on a beach. Hearing of this, officials of the Simpson Lumber Company began to make plans to return her to Shelton and restore her as a museum. Before this could happen, the Army Corps of Engineers dragged the hull off the beach, filled it with rocks, and sank it to form part of a breakwater. This was unfortunate, as "S.G. Simpson" had been the last surviving sternwheeler to operate on Puget Sound. Her paddle wheel was visible on the beach where she'd been abandoned as late as 1960.

ee also

*"City of Shelton" (sternwheeler)
*Mason County, Washington

External links

* [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7730 HistoryLink.org “Mason County -- Thumbnail History”]

Notes