A Day of Accidents on the Sternwheeler Toledo
The Toledo *
From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:
This week I grabbed a reel of microfilm at random and found myself drawn to an article on the very first frame. I was reading the June 3, 1887 issue of Cowlitz’s Advocate, a newspaper from Kalama.
The newspaper was less than a year old when the presumed writer of the article below, William D. Close (1845-1914), purchased the paper in May 1887. A Union vet from the Civil War who had been wounded in action, Mr. Close had moved to Washington Territory in 1880. He had a varied career and at different times had been employed as a farmer, fisherman, postmaster, county treasurer, deputy sheriff, mercantile operator, hotel manager, and from May 1887 to October 1888, newspaperman. A more detailed biography of Close can be found in the 1893 edition of An Illustrated History of the State of Washington.
ACCIDENTS TO THE TOLEDO
The Steamer Collide with a Ferry — Steampipe Bursts — Frightened Passengers
“Last Saturday, as the steamer Toledo was rounding too to make a landing at Castle Rock, and just above Whittle’s ferry, Mr. Chas. F. Atkins, who manages the ferry boat, thinking the steamer would pick up and get out of his way, but, the current being very swift, the boat did not pick up but dropped down stream. Seeing a collision was unavoidable the captain of the Toledo stopped the wheel, when the ferry-boat struck the steamer about three feet forward of the wheel– the steamer being slightly quartering in the current, drifted against the ferry, and the ferry which is propelled by the current upon a wire cable, raised high enough to allow the steamer to pass under it, being set so that the current pressed the ferry against the steamer so strong that they could not be separated– the pressure of the current against the steamer, and the pressure of both against the ferry, something had to give away. First the pins which holds the roller by which the cable down upon the pilot house and became connected with the cord attached to the whistle, causing a mournful sound to issue therefrom, as though the steamer was in terrible distress. Captain Orrin Kellogg quickly detached the cable from the cord and stifled the sound, when the pressure becoming so great it was evident something must give away, when to the great relief of all the ropes running from the cable to the ferry parted, and the steamer drifted down stream free with but slight damage to her pilot house and the bending of the whistle-pipe. The ferry was quickly tied to the steamer which towed it back to the landing, where it was tied up with but slight damage. The steamer then landed on the Castle Rock side and took on some passengers.”
1887 Map of the Castle Rock Area **
ANOTHER ACCIDENT
“The reporter reluctantly went aboard, thinking it a day of accidents, and the steamer proceeded on her way. When about one mile down the river all at once a hissing sound of escaping steam came from the lower deck, soon enveloping the steamer in steam, which caused a terrible commotion among the passengers. Women screamed and fainted; men threw down their cards and rushed out on deck, vowing, if saved, they would do better in the future. An old lady would have jumped overboard had she not been catched and held by Mr. Willard Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Zeller, of Portland, came rushing out of the cabin, and in the excitement Mr. Zeller’s hat was knocked off and overboard, when the writer quietly but firmly got a hold them and endeavored to quiet them.”
“At this moment Captain Orrin Kellogg appeared and assured the passengers they were in no danger, as the escaping steam was from a small pipe which had been injured by the cable. The steamer was landed and tied up, and the steam allowed to escape, when it took but a few minutes to repair the damage, and we were soon again [on] our way. A lady fainted the second time before quiet was restored. A man, with a cut foot, sat quiet and as cool as a cucumber, waiting for some one to bring his crutches. It is reported, with what degree of truth we cannot say, that the ‘devil’ of the Advocate office, who was on board, quietly, but very swiftly, made his way to a stateroom and tucked himself under the bed. We know he was not to be found for some time. He says he does not know how many points he had in a game of whist, but he knows he made it to a point to get away from there as soon as possible.”
The Toledo was a sternwheeler and was such a major part of Cowlitz River life the settlement at the northernmost point of the ship’s circuit was named after the craft. Toledo, Washington is still there today. The ship was built in 1878, rebuilt in 1885, and was sold to another company in 1891. The Toledo was wrecked in 1896 on the Yamhill River.
The advent of the automobile and subsequent improved roads brought the age of steamboats on the Cowlitz to an end in 1918.
Some materials containing information on the Toledo in WSL’s collection include:
The Toledo Community Story 1800-2008
A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon and Alaska
Cowlitz River Navigation with Respect to the Development of the Town of Toledo, Washington
* Photo of sternwheeler Toledo taken from Cowlitz Corridor (1953)
** Map of Castle Rock and Cowlitz River from Anderson’s Map of Cowlitz County, Washington (1897) which is also available in digital form online
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