C.H. Wheeler

Wreck of C.H.Wheeler, newspaper illustration from 1901
History
Name:	C.H. Wheeler
Owner:	Nehalem River Transportation Co.
Port of registry:	Astoria, OR
In service:	1901
Out of service:	1901
Identification:	U.S. 127490
Fate:	Wrecked near Yaquina Bay
Notes:	wooden construction
General characteristics
Type:	schooner-rigged lumber barge
Tonnage:	371 gross tons; 356 net tons
Length:	141.8 ft (43.22 m)
Beam:	34.5 ft (10.52 m)
Depth:	10.6 ft (3.23 m) depth of hold
Sail plan:	schooner
Capacity:	562,000 board feet of lumber
Crew:	four (4)
Notes:	Built to operate with the tug Geo. R. Vosburg

C.H. Wheeler was a schooner-rigged unpowered lumber barge that operated during the year 1901, making only a few voyages before it was wrecked near Yaquina Bay with the loss of one life. C.H. Wheeler was the largest vessel up to that time to reach Tillamook City and the first vessel to transport a load of lumber from Tillamook to San Francisco. The circumstances of the loss of the C.H. Wheeler were controversial and resulted in the arrest (charges were subsequently dismissed) of the captain of the tug that had been towing the barge before it was wrecked.

C.H. Wheeler was owned by the Nehalem Transportation Company, based in Nehalem, Oregon, had been incorporated in August 1900 by filing articles of incorporation with the Oregon Secretary of State. The company was capitalized at $12,000. The persons who formed the corporation were C.H. Wheeler, George R. Vosburg, J.E. Dubois, J.L. Vosburg, and J.K. Gambill. The same persons also incorporated, at the same time, the Wheeler Lumber Company, also based in Nehalem, with a capital stock of $40,000.

Wheeler was built simultaneously with an ocean-going tugboat, the Geo. R. Vosburg, and the plan was to operate the two vessels together. The barge was built to carry lumber cut by the Wheeler Lumber Company, which had the largest saw mill on the Nehalem River. This mill cut 35,000 board feet of lumber for every 10-hour day, and it was intended to expand that capacity to 100,000 board feet per day. As soon as the tug and barge were complete, barge would be loaded with lumber and the tug would tow the barge to San Francisco. It was also speculated that if a barge of this type could be safely towed in and out of the Nehalem, then coal mines could be opened in the area, with coal being shipped to Astoria and Portland.

Wheeler was launched on November 13, 1900, in Portland, Oregon, at the former shipyard of James B. Stephens. Originally, the barge was to have been known as Nehalem Transportation Company No. 1, but it was launched under the name C.H. Wheeler.

Wheeler had a sailing rig as a schooner. Gross tonnage, a measure of size rather than weight, was 371 and net tonnage was 356. The barge was 141.8 ft (43.22 m) long, with a beam of 34.5 ft (10.52 m) and depth of hold of 10.6 ft (3.23 m). The official vessel registry number was 127499, and the flag recognition signal was K.Q.M.T.