Senator (sternwheeler)

News item, May 7, 1875
History
Name:	Senator
Owner:	People's Transportation Co.; Oregon Steamship Co.
Route:	Willamette River
In service:	1863
Out of service:	1875
Identification:	U.S. 23148
Fate:	Destroyed by boiler explosion
General characteristics
Type:	inland steamship
Length:	123 ft (37.5 m) exclusive of fantail.
Beam:	21 ft (6.4 m) exclusive of guards
Depth:	5 ft (2 m) 3.5 ft (1 m) or depth of hold
Installed power:	twin high-pressure steam engines, horizontally mounted, single cylinder, bore 12.25 in (311.15 mm), stroke 48 in (1,219.20 mm).
Propulsion:	stern-wheel

Senator was a stern-wheel-driven steamboat which operated on the Willamette River in the state of Oregon from 1863 to 1875. Senator is chiefly remembered for its having been destroyed in a fatal boiler explosion in 1875 while making a landing at the Portland, Oregon waterfront in 1875.

Senator was built in 1863 at Milwaukie, Oregon by shipbuilder John T. Thomas (1808-1890) for steamboat captain Joseph Kellogg. The steamer made its trial trip on January 22, 1864. The dimensions of the hull were length 123 feet; beam (width) 21 feet; depth of hold 5.0 feet; draft light (unloaded) 22 inches. Gross tonnage in 1874 for Senator was 297.99.

The official merchant vessel registry number for Senator was 23148.

The machinery for Senator came from the steamer Surprise, which had been built at Canemah, Oregon in 1857. The boat was powered by two single cylinder steam engines, each with a bore diameter of 12.25 inches and a stroke of 48 inches. The stern-wheel was 17 feet in diameter with planks, called “paddles” 14 inches across.

Soon after Senator was completed, Joseph Kellogg, the owner, sold it to People's Transportation Company in exchange for stock in the company.

Joseph Kellogg continued in command of Senator until 1867, when George A. Pease and E.W. Baughman became captains. Capt. Charles H. Kellogg (1846-1889) took command until the steamer was sold to Ben Hollday in 1871.

In October 1866, Senator was part of a transportation route to Washington County, Oregon which sought to avoid the navigation barrier then formed by Willamette Falls.

Senator would run to Oswego, on the Willamette River, where passengers would disembark, and cross over to Sucker Lake, as Lake Oswego was then known. The traveler would then stay overnight at Shade's Hotel in Oswego, and, the next morning, board a small sternwheeler, the Minnehaha.