Enterprise (1855)
).jpg)
Enterprise
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States-British Columbia
|
|
| Name: | Enterprise |
| Route: | Willamette River, Puget Sound, Fraser River, Chehalis River |
| Builder: | Archibald Jamieson and others |
| In service: | 1855 |
| Out of service: | 1862 |
| Fate: | Dismantled at Grays Harbor, 1862 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | inland steamship (passenger/freight) |
| Tonnage: | 115 gross tons |
| Length: | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Beam: | 20 ft (6 m) |
| Depth: | 4.5 ft (1 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power: | twin steam engines, horizontally mounted , 12" bore x 48" stroke 9.6 net horsepower |
| Propulsion: | sternwheel |
The Enterprise was an early steamboat operating on the Willamette River in Oregon and also one of the first to operate on the Fraser River in British Columbia. This vessel should not be confused with the many other vessels, some of similar design, also named Enterprise. In earlier times, this vessel was sometimes called Tom Wright's Enterprise after one of her captains, the famous Tom Wright.
Enterprise was built at Canemah, Oregon in the fall of 1855 by Capt. Archibald Jamieson, Captain A.S. Murray, Amory Holbrook and John Torrence, in the fall of 1855, for the upper Willamette trade. Her officers on the first trip upriver to Corvallis (then known as Marysville) were: Jamieson, captain ; Chandler, purser; and Torrence, engineer. George A. Pease was afterward employed as pilot, and John Marshall, engineer.
From 1855 to 1858 Enterprise was operated on the Willamette River, running between Oregon City, Canemah, and Corvallis. At that time Corvallis was considered to be the head of navigation on the Willamette. Merchants above Corvallis tried to get Captain Jamieson to bring Enterprise, which he then commanded, above Corvallis, but he would not go farther than Orleans, then a small settlement on the east side of the river across from Corvallis.
In July 1858, Jamieson sold Enterprise to Capt. Thomas A. Wright. Jamieson used the money from the sale of Enterprise to build the steamer Onward. Tom Wright became one of the most famous steamboat captains in the Pacific Northwest. Like Jamieson, Wright was one of a family in the steamboat business. His father was Capt. John T. Wright, who was the owner of other steamboats, such as Sea Bird and Commodore. The other two sons, also steamboat captains, were George S. Wright and John T. Wright, Jr.
Tom Wright's plan for Enterprise was to take the vessel into British waters to serve the Fraser River Gold Rush. The first part of the journey began by moving Enterprise from the upper to the lower Willamette River by lining the vessel over Willamette Falls. These falls could not be navigated by steamboats, and indeed Captain Jamieson was later killed when a vessel under his command was accidentally swept over them and destroyed. Lining was procedure where a heavy cable was attached to the vessel, and then to a well-anchored windlass on shore. Little by little the cable would be let out to allow the vessel to gradually pass over the falls to the lower river.
...
Wikipedia