Multnomah (sidewheeler 1851)

Multnomah at foot of Washington St, Portland, Oregon, in 1853.
History
Owner:	Bissell, Maxwell, and Gray; Richard Hoyt, Sr.; Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Route:	Willamette River, lower Columbia River
Launched:	June 1851 or fall,1851, at Canemah, Oregon or Oregon City.
Out of service:	1864, dismantled at Portland, Oregon
General characteristics
Type:	inland shallow draft steamboat, wooden hull
Length:	108 ft (32.9 m)
Beam:	Measured over hull: 17 ft (5.2 m) or 18 ft (5.5 m) Measured over guards: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Draft:	18 in (46 cm)
Depth:	6 ft (1.8 m) depth of hold
Installed power:	steam, twin high-pressure engines, 10 in (25 cm) bore by 48 in (120 cm) stroke, horizontally mounted, 6.6 nominal horsepower
Propulsion:	sidewheels
Speed:	14 mi (23 km) per hour

The Multnomah was one of the first steamboats to operate on the Willamette and Yamhill rivers. This vessel should not be confused with the Multnomah, a steamboat built in Portland, Oregon in 1885, which was larger and of a much different design.

The components of Multnomah were manufactured in the eastern United States, then shipped to Oregon City, Oregon around Cape Horn on the bark Success. At that time, there were no locks at Willamette Falls, so it was important to determine whether a boat would be built above or below the falls. In the case of Multnomah, the vessel was assembled at Canemah, a settlement above the falls. This allowed the vessel to run on the upper Willamette, running south from Canemah through the Willamette Valley. Multnomah 's hull was barrel-shaped, and held in shape with iron hoops which made caulking unnecessary. The Multnomah was a sidewheeler, as were all the boats operating in Oregon before 1854. The vessel's funnel was equipped with a spark arrester.

Multnomah 's engines were first tested in June 1851, and in August 1851 the vessel was taken on the first run upriver. On this trip, Multnomah reached Cressman's Bar, a point about 20 miles (32 km) downriver from Salem, Oregon. At Cressman's, the water was so shallow that even Multnomah, which needed only 18 inches to run in, could only cross the bar with difficulty. Multnomah was able to proceed 5 miles (8.0 km) further upstream to Matheny's landing, (now the site of the Wheatland Ferry where the water was so shallow that no passage was possible. Under political pressure, the territorial legislature authorized funds to excavate the bars, so that by September, 1851, a channel four feet deep extended all the way to Salem. Multnomah was able to work further upriver from Salem, reaching the mouth of Rickreall Creek, according to Mills. Historian Corning states that Multnomah went even further that fall, and became the first steamboat to reach Corvallis, then known as Marysville.