Columbia (sidewheeler 1850)

Advertisement for steamer Columbia, July 17, 1851.
Name:	Columbia (sidewheel steamboat)
Owner:	Frost, Adair, Leonards and Green
Route:	lower Columbia River and lower Willamette River
Builder:	Thomas Goodwin and George Hewitt
Launched:	1850, at Astoria, Oregon
Type:	shallow draft inland passenger/freight, wooden construction
Length:	90 ft (27.4 m)
Beam:	16 ft (4.9 m)
Depth:	about 4 ft (1.2 m) depth of hold
Installed power:	steam engines, 8 in (20 cm) bore by 24 in (61 cm) stroke
Propulsion:	sidewheels
Speed:	4 mi (6.4 km) per hour or a little more
Notes:	Dismantled 1852, engines to sidewheeler Fashion.

The Columbia was a steamboat built at Astoria, Oregon in 1850. Columbia was the first steamboat built in the Oregon Territory, and the first to establish regular service on the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers. This vessel should not be confused with the many other craft with the same or a similar name, including in particular at least four other vessels named Columbia which ran on the Columbia river or its tributaries.

Columbia was built at upper Astoria, Oregon. One source states that the vessel was built by Gen. James Adair (1808–1888) and James Frost. John Adair was the first collector of customs for the Oregon Territory. Adair was a lawyer with political connections, and later was friend and advisor to Joseph Lane, one of Oregon's first senators. Frost, originally from Missouri, had come out to Oregon with a pioneer rifle regiment. Frost had been a sutler in this regiment, and his brother was quartermaster. When the American Civil War began, Frost, returned to Missouri where he served with the rebel militia. Frost lived in St. Louis, Missouri after the war. Another source states that Columbia was built by Thomas Goodwin and George Hewitt for Adair, Frost, and two others, whose names are given as Leonards and Green.

Columbia has been described as odd-shaped and clumsy-looking, and double-ended like a ferry. The vessel was built of wood and powered by sidewheels, which were driven by engines which originally came from France. James Frost had journeyed to San Francisco to purchase the engines, which were shipped up to Astoria. Another source states that the chief engineer, Thomas V. Smith, went to San Francisco to purchase engines.

Columbia began its first trip up the Columbia on the morning of July 3, 1850, with James Frost acting as captain. No one on board knew where the channel was, and the steamer's progress was slow. To act as pilots, Frost hired two young people of the Coast Salish who had been fishing on the river. By the end of the first day, they had travelled fifty miles, and Frost, not wanting to risk the vessel in the dark, tied up to the riverbank. The next morning, July 4, 1850, the steamer cast off again and proceeded upstream, arriving at Portland, Oregon (then only a small settlement) at 3:00 p.m. After staying at Portland for about 2 hours, Columbia then proceeded on to Oregon City, arriving there at 8:00 p.m., where there was a celebration of the vessel's arrival. It had taken 26 hours to make the trip.