Vallejo (ferry)

Vallejo

Vallejo during its time as a ferry between Mare Island and Vallejo
History
Name:	O&CRR Ferry No. 2 (c.1879) Vallejo (c.1895)
Owner:	Oregon & California Railroad
Launched:	1879
General characteristics
Length:	123.2 ft (37.6 m)
Beam:	31.5 ft (9.6 m)
Draft:	9.9 ft (3.0 m)
Installed power:	455 hp (339 kW) Steam engine

The Vallejo is a houseboat in Sausalito, California, United States. It was originally a passenger ferry in Portland, Oregon, known as O&CRR Ferry No. 2, in the late 19th century. After falling into disuse in Portland, it was transported to the San Francisco Bay in California, where it was used as a ferry between Vallejo and Mare Island until the end of World War II. It was later purchased by a group led by artist Jean Varda, and repurposed as a houseboat, where a number of parties and salons were hosted by leading figures in the San Francisco area counterculture scene of the 1960s and '70s.

The Oregon & California Railroad Ferry No. 2 initially served Portland, providing connectivity between the East Portland terminus of the O&C Railroad line and Downtown Portland. The 414 ton boat was put into service in 1879 by Henry Villard, to replace an aging ferry initially set up by Ben Holladay. In November 1878, a drunken passenger had stepped off the boat before it landed, and drowned; the resulting legal action was ultimately appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Differing accounts have Ferry No. 2 built on the East Coast and coming to Portland around Cape Horn, or else being built in Portland.

With the construction of the Steel Bridge in 1888, the ferry was no longer needed; after several idle years, it was transported to the San Francisco Bay, renamed Vallejo (no later than 1904), and converted to use coal and then oil for fuel. A bill of sale dated 1923 reflects a purchase by Robert Rauhauge of the Mare Island Line. It was put into service transporting workers and visitors between the city of Vallejo and Mare Island. Ferry service was discontinued after the end of World War II, and with the construction of a causeway connecting Mare Island and Vallejo; Vallejo was the last ferry to be retired. She was sold for scrap in 1947, and delivered to Sausalito to be broken up.