Wilson G. Hunt (sidewheeler)
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Wilson G. Hunt
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Wilson G. Hunt |
| Owner: | many, including Oregon Steam Navigation Company |
| Route: | Puget Sound and Sacramento, Fraser, and Columbia Rivers; Long Island Sound |
| In service: | 1849 |
| Out of service: | 1884 |
| Identification: | CAN #72676 |
| Fate: | dismantled 1890 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | inland passenger/freighter |
| Tonnage: | 461 tons gross |
| Length: | 185.5 ft (57 m) |
| Beam: | 25.8 ft (8 m) |
| Depth: | 6.75 ft (2 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power: | steam engine, low-pressure boiler, single-cylinder, 36" bore by 108" stroke, steeple type. |
| Propulsion: | sidewheels |
| Speed: | 15 knots. |
Wilson G. Hunt was a steamboat that ran in the early days of steam navigation on Puget Sound and Sacramento, Fraser, and Columbia Rivers. She was generally known as the Hunt during her years of operation. She had a long career on the west coast of the United States and Canada, and played an important transportation role in the California Gold Rush; it also transported the Governor and the state legislature as the state capital of California moved from Benicia to Sacramento in 1854.
The ship was named after a wealthy New York businessman who was a prominent merchant and philanthropist founding the firm of Wilson G. Hunt & Co. in 1833. Among other endeavors, Hunt was connected with Peter Cooper and involved himself in many of Cooper's institutions including Cooper Union and Cooper-Hewitt. He served as Treasurer on The Cooper Union Board of Trustees from the founding in 1859 to 1890. He served as president of the Illinois Central Railroad from 1874 to 1875. Hunt was born in 1804 as simply Wilson Hunt but attached the middle initial 'G' to distinguish himself. He died in 1892 at age 88.
The steamer Wilson G. Hunt was built in New York in 1849 by the Collyer yard for the excursion trade to Coney Island. The vessel was185.5 ft (57 m), 25.8 ft (8 m) and 6.75 ft (2 m) depth of hold.
The Hunt had an old style "steeple type" steam engine with an enormous single cylinder of 36" bore by 108" inch stroke. The Hunt had a low-pressure boiler, which at the time was advertised as being safer than high-pressure boats. This power plant could drive the vessel at 15 knots. The most unusual feature of the Wilson G. Hunt was the unusual steeple housing for her engine, which looked like an enormous slice of cheese:
The Hunt's steeple engine was the only recorded use of this type on the West Coast. With this type of engine, as well as the more common walking beam type, there were special mechanical dangers. If the engine, powered by a single piston, should ever hang at dead center, the only way to move the piston to discharge the steam was to lever the paddle wheel forward with a long bar. This was extremely dangerous, as should the piston start pumping again, the bar could be flung out of the control of the men pushing it, killing them or breaking bones.
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Wikipedia