Echo (sternwheeler 1865)
Encyclopedia
Echo was a sternwheel steamboat that operated on the Willamette River
from about 1865 to 1873 and was one of the first steamboats to carry what was then considered a large cargo out of Eugene, Oregon
.
(WRSN) at Canemah, Oregon
, a small town just above Willamette Falls
which is now part of Oregon City
. Echo 's owners as shown on her licensing papers were A. P. Ankeny and John Gates. was launched May 22, 1865 and made her trial trip July 27 in command of Capt. Miles Bell, who was then in the service of the Willamette Steam Navigation Company. Captain Cochran succeeded Bell as master, and captains Pease and Sebastian Miller also handled the vessel for a while. Other sternwheelers built and run by WRSN included Alert and Active.
and Eugene, Oregon
, a city which until 1853 bore the name "Skinner's Mudhole". By April 1869 Echo was running on the Willamette between Eugene and Springfield
, carrying as much as 101 tons of freight, which up to then was the heaviest cargo ever embarked from Eugene. For a short time Echo, running above Willamette Falls
, ran in conjunction with the steamer U.S. Grant, running below the falls.
's Oregon Steamship Company.
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
from about 1865 to 1873 and was one of the first steamboats to carry what was then considered a large cargo out of Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
.
Construction
Echo was built for the Willamette River Steam Navigation CompanyWillamette Steam Navigation Company
The Willamette Steam Navigation Company was an American company incorporated in October 1865 to challenge the monopoly on Willamette River inland steam navigation that the People's Transportation Company was attempting to establish....
(WRSN) at Canemah, Oregon
Canemah, Oregon
Canemah was an early settlement in the U.S. state of Oregon located near Willamette Falls on the Willamette River. It is now a district within Oregon City.-Location:...
, a small town just above Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
which is now part of Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
. Echo 's owners as shown on her licensing papers were A. P. Ankeny and John Gates. was launched May 22, 1865 and made her trial trip July 27 in command of Capt. Miles Bell, who was then in the service of the Willamette Steam Navigation Company. Captain Cochran succeeded Bell as master, and captains Pease and Sebastian Miller also handled the vessel for a while. Other sternwheelers built and run by WRSN included Alert and Active.
Operations
Echo ran between PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, a city which until 1853 bore the name "Skinner's Mudhole". By April 1869 Echo was running on the Willamette between Eugene and Springfield
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
, carrying as much as 101 tons of freight, which up to then was the heaviest cargo ever embarked from Eugene. For a short time Echo, running above Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
, ran in conjunction with the steamer U.S. Grant, running below the falls.
Ownership changes
In March 1866, WRSN and its boats were acquired by the People's Navigation Company, sometimes called the People's line. In 1871, People's line sold all its assets to Ben HolladayBen Holladay
Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...
's Oregon Steamship Company.
Further reading
- Timmen, Blow for the Landing—A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1973 ISBN 0-87004-221-0