PS Eliza Anderson

Eliza Anderson
History
NameEliza Anderson
RoutePuget Sound, Strait of Georgia, Fraser River, Admiralty Inlet, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Alaska, Columbia River
BuilderSamuel Farman's yard, foot of Couch Street, Portland, Oregon[1]
Laid downEarly 1857
LaunchedNovember 27, 1858[2]
Maiden voyageJanuary 2, 1859[1]
In service1859-1898 (with significant intermediate periods out of service)
Out of servicevarious times, finally beached and abandoned 1898 at Dutch Harbor
FateAbandoned 1898, Dutch Harbor, Alaska
General characteristics
Typeinland steamship
Tonnage276
Length140 ft (43 m)
Beam25.5 ft (8 m)
Depth8.8 ft (3 m) depth of hold
Decksthree (freight, passenger, boat)
Installed powerlow-pressure boiler, single-cylinder walking beam steam engine
Propulsionsidewheels
Sail planschooner (auxiliary)

The PS Eliza Anderson operated from 1858 to 1898 mainly on Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Fraser River but also for short periods in Alaska.[3] She was generally known as the Old Anderson and was considered slow and underpowered even for the time. Even so, it was said of her that "no steamboat ever went slower and made money faster." She played a role in the Underground Railroad and had a desperate last voyage to Alaska as part of the Klondike Gold Rush.

  1. ^ a b Wright, E.W. Lewis & Dryden Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 76-77, Lewis and Dryden Printing Co. Portland, OR 1895 (accessed 2008-03-25)
  2. ^ Carey, Roland N., The Sound of Steamers, at 54-75, Alderbrook Publishing Co. Seattle, WA 1965
  3. ^ Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 14, 15, 40, 130, 265, and 369, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966