View source for Shoo Fly (sternwheeler)

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Shoo Fly and Albany circa 1873.jpg
|Ship caption=''Shoo Fly'' (left) and [[Albany (sternwheeler 1868)|''Albany'']] at the boat basin at [[Oregon City]], at [[Willamette Falls]], circa 1873.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name= Shoo Fly
|Ship owner= [[People's Transportation Company|People's Transportation Co.]]; Oregon Steamship Co ([[Ben Holladay]]).; [[Oregon Steam Navigation Company|Oregon Steam Navigation Co.]]
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry=
|Ship route= [[Willamette River]], [[Columbia River]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship launched=
|Ship built=
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service= 1871
|Ship out of service= 1878
|Ship identification= U.S. 23975
|Ship fate= Dismantled
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=inland steamship
|Ship tonnage= 316.79
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|126|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}, and after reconstruction, {{convert|191|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|23|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth={{convert|4.5|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} depth of hold
|Ship decks=three (freight, passenger, boat)
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power= twin steam engines, single cylinder, horizontally mounted
|Ship propulsion=sternwheel
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''''Shoo Fly''''' was a sternwheel-driven steamboat that operated on the [[Willamette River|Willamette]] and [[Columbia River|Columbia]] rivers in the 1870s.  Originally built as primarily a freight boat, the vessel was used in other roles, including towing and clearing of snags.  ''Shoo Fly'' inspired the name of another sternwheeler on the Willamette River, [[Don't Bother Me (sternwheeler)|''Don't Bother Me'']].<ref>* <!--MILLS, STERNWHEELERS UP COLUMBIA-->{{cite book
| author1-last = Mills
| author1-first = Randall V.
| author-link1 = Randall V. Mills
| title = Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country | isbn = 0-8032-5874-7
| lccn = 77007161
| location =  Lincoln NE
| publisher = University of Nebraska
| date = 1947
|page=192
}}</ref>

==Construction==
''Shoo Fly'' was built at [[Canemah, Oregon]] for the [[People's Transportation Company]] and launched, according to one source, early in 1870.<ref name = LewisShooFly>{{cite book
| editor1-last = Wright
| editor1-first = E.W.
| title = Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest
| year = 1895
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ
| lccn = 28001147
| location = [[Portland, Oregon|Portland, OR]]
| publisher = Lewis and Dryden Printing Co.
| publication-date = 1895
| page =[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ/page/n208 184]
}}</ref>  According to another source, the steamer was approaching completion on June 25, 1870.<ref>{{Citation
| title = Nearly Finished
| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042452/1870-06-25/ed-1/seq-3/
| newspaper = Weekly Enterprise
| location = Oregon City, OR
| volume = 4
| issue  = 33
| date = Jun 25, 1870
| page  =3 col. 1
| publisher = A. Noltner
}}</ref>

==Dimensions and engineering==
''Shoo Fly'' was 126 feet long, exclusive of the extension of the main deck over the stern, called the fantail, on which the stern-wheel was mounted.<ref name = LewisShooFly/>  The steamer had a beam (width) of 23 feet, and a depth of hold of 4.5 feet.<ref name = LewisShooFly/>  ''Shoo Fly'' was driven by twin single-cylinder steam engines, each one with a 14 inch bore and a 48 inch stroke.<ref name = LewisShooFly/>  The engines generated 13 nominal [[horsepower]].<ref name = Affleck25>{{cite book
| author1-last = Affleck
| author1-first = Edward L.
| title = A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska
| isbn =0-920034-08-X
| location = Vancouver, BC
| publisher =  Alexander Nicholls Press
| date = 2000
| at = p.25
}}</ref>  The official merchant vessel registry number was 23975.<ref name = 1874registry>{{cite book
| last1 = [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury Dept]], Statistics Bureau
| title = Annual List of Merchant Vessels
| type = [[fiscal year|FY]] end Jun 30, 1874
| location = [[Washington, DC|Wash. DC]]
| publisher = [[Government Printing Office|GPO]]
| date = 1875
| volume = 7
|pages=9, 303
| hdl = 2027/njp.32101068130820
}}</ref>  The tonnage of the steamer was 316.79.<ref name = 1874registry/>

==Operations==

===People's Navigation Company===
Following launch, ''Shoo Fly'' was operated by Capt. George Jerome from Oregon City to points on the upper Willamette.<ref name = LewisShooFly/>  ''Shoo Fly'' was later commanded by John Kelly (b.1839), J.N. Fisher, and others.  On Tuesday, July 19, 1870, ''Shoo Fly'' attracted a large crowd at Albany when it reached the wharf there, apparently for the first time.<ref>{{Citation
| title = Local affairs … Early in the morning, the P.T. Co.'s new steamer …
| url = http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84022643/1870-07-23/ed-1/seq-3/
| newspaper = The Albany Register
| location = Albany, OR
| volume = 2
| issue  = 46
| date = Jul 23, 1870
| page  =3 col. 2
| publisher = Coll. Van Cleve
}}</ref>  On Thursday July 21, 1870, ''Shoo Fly'' ran from Canemah to Salem in 8 hours and forty minutes.<ref>{{Citation
| title = Oregon … On Thursday the new steamer Shoo Fly …
| url   = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-1235F404AB2C1FC0%25402404267-123055C7883C3B08%25402-12D4D94AA70E17B8%2540Oregon&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
| newspaper = Morning Oregonian
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 10
| issue  = 145
| date = Jul 23, 1870
| page  =3 col. 3
| publisher = Henry L. Pittock
}}</ref>

In August 1870, ''Shoo Fly'' was being used to pull snags out of the channel of the upper  Willamette River.<ref>{{Citation
| title = Fifty years ago — the river steamer Shoo Fly …
| url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-11D639A349014858%25402422543-11D639A39F2CD9A8%25408-11D639A5CE4A5EF8%2540Fifty%2520Years%2520Ago&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
| newspaper = Morning Oregonian
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 59
| issue  = 18,627
| date = Aug 6, 1920
| page  =8
}}</ref>

In November 1870, ''Shoo Fly''’s arrival at [[Albany, Oregon]] was reported rather sarcastically by the local ''State Rights Democrat'' newspaper, which had been highly critical of the People’s Transportation Company:
{{blockquote|A BOAT! A BOAT! — Last Wednesday the P.T. Co’s palatial steamer “Shoo-Fly” put in an appearance at the Albany wharf — being the first vessel larger than a raft which has navigated the Willamette above Salem for three months.  We expect to have regular steamboat connection with Portland hereafter — Providence permitting.<ref>{{Citation
| title = A BOAT! A BOAT!
| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn84022644/1870-11-11/ed-1/seq-3/
| newspaper = State Rights Democrat
| location = Albany, OR
| volume = 6
| issue  = 13
| date = Nov 11, 1870
| page  =3 col. 2
| publisher = Martin V. Brown
}}</ref>}}

On February 10, 1871, ''Shoo Fly'' landed a cargo of 1,388 sacks of wheat, or about 2,776 [[bushels]] at the Salem Flour Mill, brought down from towns upriver, which had a large amount of wheat waiting to be shipped to Salem.<ref>{{Citation
| title = The Steamer Shoo Fly landed at the Salem flour mill …
| url   = http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93051636/1871-02-11/ed-1/seq-3/
| newspaper = Oregon Republican
| location = [[Dallas, Oregon|Dallas, OR]]
| volume = 1
| issue  = 49
| date = Feb 11, 1871
| page  =3 col. 3
| publisher = Sullivan & Tyson
}}</ref>

===Sale to Ben Holladay===
In early September 1871, the People’s Transportation Company went out of business and sold all of its assets, including ''Shoo Fly'', to a corporation controlled by [[Ben Holladay]].<ref>{{cite book
| editor1-last = Wright
| editor1-first = E.W.
| title = Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest
| year = 1895
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ
| lccn = 28001147
| location = [[Portland, Oregon|Portland, OR]]
| publisher = Lewis and Dryden Printing Co.
| publication-date = 1895
| page =[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ/page/n220 196]
}}</ref>

===Reconstruction and return to service===
In October 1873 ''Shoo Fly'' was rebuilt at a sawmill.<ref>{{Citation
| title = City .. Steamer Shoo Fly
| url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-123262AB1E91BEA0%25402405434-123054AB218976E8%25402-12D47E6445844EC8%2540City&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
| newspaper = Morning Oregonian
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 13
| issue  = 206
| date = Oct 2, 1873
| page  =3 col. 1
| publisher = Henry L. Pittock
}}</ref>

On the morning of December 11, 1872, ''Shoo Fly'', then running under the control of the Oregon Steamship Company, loaded a cargo of wheat and departed downriver with the objective of reaching the ship [[Cutwater]], then moored at [[Astoria, Oregon|Astoria]].<ref name = Cutwater>{{Citation
| title = City … Reached in Safety
| url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-12326334C03D8DD0%25402405505-123054B5063D55F8%25402-12D47F4B86FB6E08%2540City&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
| newspaper = Morning Oregonian
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 13
| issue  = 264
| date = Dec 12, 1873
| page  =3 col. 1
| publisher = Henry L. Pittock
}}</ref>  Downriver from [[St. Helens, Oregon|St. Helens]], the Columbia was clogged with masses of floating ice.<ref name = Cutwater/>  That evening a telegram was received in Portland, stating that ''Shoo Fly'' had safely reached [[Kalama, Washington]], which was 14 miles downriver from St. Helens.<ref name = Cutwater/>

''Shoo Fly'' became one of several steamers, including [[Ben Holladay (sternwheeler)|''Ben Holladay'']], [[Annie Stewart (sternwheeler)|''Annie Stewar''t]] and [[Favorite (steam tug)|''Favorite'']], which towed ocean-going vessels, typically loading wheat, inland from Astoria to Portland, where the cargo would be loaded and then the ship towed back to Astoria.<ref>{{cite book
| editor1-last = Wright
| editor1-first = E.W.
| title = Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest
| year = 1895
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ
| lccn = 28001147
| location = [[Portland, Oregon|Portland, OR]]
| publisher = Lewis and Dryden Printing Co.
| publication-date = 1895
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ/page/n244 220], 241, n.34
}}</ref>  Some of the towing was done for [[George Washington Wiedler|Wiedler’s]] mills, with Capt. I. Smith (b.1847) in charge of the ''Shoo Fly''.

In March 1875 command of the Shoo Fly shifted from Capt. “Billy” Becannon, who had commanded the steamer for sometime, to Capt. J.N. Fisher.<ref>{{Citation
| title = Local Brevities … Capt. "Billy" Becannon …
| newspaper = Morning Oregonian
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 15
| issue  = 29
| date = Mar 9, 1875
| page  =3 col. 2
| publisher = Henry L. Pittock
}}</ref>

===Reported sale for Stikine River service===
In the early 1870s, the [[Cassiar Country#Cassiar Gold Rush|Cassiar gold rush]] occurred in northern British Columbia.  The [[Stikine River]], (then spelled “Stickeen”) which reached the sea near [[Wrangell, Alaska]] was the principal means of access to the gold fields in northern [[British Columbia]].

On January 17, 1874, it was reported that “two well known gentlemen of Portland” had purchased ''Shoo Fly'' to take it to the Stikine River, and further, these men were arranging to build another light-draft steamer for the same purpose.<ref>{{Citation
| title = The Stickeen gold mine fever shows no abatement …
| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96061148/1874-01-17/ed-1/seq-2/
| newspaper = Tri-Weekly Astorian
| location = Astoria, OR
| volume = 2
| issue  = 28
| date = Jan 17, 1874
| page  =2 col. 3
| publisher = D.C. Ireland
}}</ref>  Despite this report, there appears to have been no attempt ever to transfer ''Shoo Fly'' to the Stikine.

==Collisions==

===With river steamer ''Marie Wilkins''===
In November 1874 there was a collision between the ''Shoo Fly'' and another steamer, the ''[[Marie Wilkins]]'' near the mouth of the Willamette River.<ref name = SlightCollision>{{Citation
| title = City … Slight Collision.
| url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A11A73E5827618330%2540EANX-NB-12329C528F5E2C70%25402405852-123054E889DACFD8%25402-12D483D983DD0768%2540City&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Finfoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
| newspaper = Morning Oregonian
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 14
| issue  = 248
| date = Nov 24, 1874
| page  =3 col. 1
}}</ref>

''Shoo Fly'' was proceeding downriver, with a ship loaded with grain in tow.<ref name = SlightCollision/>  ''Wilkins'' was coming up river, heavily laden with cargo. causing the vessel to have difficulty in steering.<ref name = SlightCollision/>  Seeing the difficulty ''Wilkins'' was in, the captain of ''Shoo Fly'' gave the signal to stop, but ''Wilkins'' did not respond in time, and collided with the ship under tow by ''Shoo Fly''.<ref name = SlightCollision/>  ''Wilkins'' sustained only minor damage to its guards, and the vessel was repaired and returned to service a few days later.<ref name = SlightCollision/>

===With steamship ''Ajax''===
On December 9, 1876, ''Shoo Fly'' collided with the much larger (1355 tons)<ref name = 1874registry/> ocean-going steamship [[Ajax (steamship)|''Ajax'']], on the Columbia River, near the mouth of the Willamette River.<ref name = AjaxCollision>{{Citation
| title = The river steamer Shoo-Fly collided with the steamship Ajax …
| url   = http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84022770/1876-12-16/ed-1/seq-2/
| newspaper = Washington Standard
| location = [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia, W.T.]]
| volume = 17
| issue  = 4
| date = Dec 16, 1876
| page  =2 col. 7
| publisher = John Miller Murphy
}}</ref>  ''Shoo Fly'' had to be beached, where the vessel sank.<ref name = AjaxCollision/>  By December 22, ''Shoo Fly'' was reported as being in the process of being raised.<ref>{{Citation
| title = The steamer "Shoo Fly," sunken by collision …
| url = http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84022673/1876-12-22/ed-1/seq-3/
| newspaper = The New Northwest
| location = Portland, OR
| volume = 6
| issue  = 15
| date = Dec 22, 1876
| page  =3 col. 1
| publisher = A.J. Duniway
}}</ref>

==Disposition==
''Shoo Fly'' was dismantled in 1878.<ref name = Affleck25/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==

===Books===
* {{cite book
| author1-last = Affleck
| author1-first = Edward L.
| title = A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska
| isbn =0-920034-08-X
| location = Vancouver, BC
| publisher =  Alexander Nicholls Press
| date = 2000
}}
* <!--MILLS, STERNWHEELERS UP COLUMBIA-->{{cite book
| author1-last = Mills
| author1-first = Randall V.
| author-link1 = Randall V. Mills
| title = Sternwheelers up Columbia -- A Century of Steamboating in the Oregon Country | isbn = 0-8032-5874-7
| lccn = 77007161
| location =  Lincoln NE
| publisher = University of Nebraska
| date = 1947
}}
* {{cite book
| author1-last = Timmen
| author1-first = Fritz
| title = Blow for the Landing -- A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West
| isbn = 0-87004-221-1
| lccn = 73150815
| location =  Caldwell, ID
| publisher =  [[Caxton Press (United States)|Caxton Printers]]
| date = 1973
}}
* {{cite book
| editor1-last = Wright
| editor1-first = E.W.
| title = Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest
| year = 1895
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_seRDAAAAYAAJ
| lccn = 28001147
| location = [[Portland, Oregon|Portland, OR]]
| publisher = Lewis and Dryden Printing Co.
| publication-date = 1895
}}

===Newspaper collections===
* <!-- HISTORIC OREGON NEWSPAPERS-->{{cite web
| url = http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu
| title = Historic Oregon Newspapers
| publisher = [[University of Oregon]]
}}
*  {{cite web
| url = http://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/newspapers.aspx
| title = Historic Newspapers
| publisher  = Washington Secretary of State
}}

{{Willamette River Steamboats}}
{{Columbia River Steamboats}}

[[Category:People's Transportation Company]]
[[Category:Oregon Steam Navigation Company]]
[[Category:Steamboats of the Willamette River]]
[[Category:Steamboats of the Columbia River]]
[[Category:Ships built in Canemah, Oregon]]