Ruth (sternwheeler 1895)

The large trapezoidal tarpulin rigged over the foredeck was a distinctive feature of Willamette River sternwheelers.
Ruth moored at Salem, Oregon, during flood, sometime between 1895 and 1898, with smaller sternwheeler Gypsy alongside.
History
NameRuth
OwnerOregon Railroad & Navigation Co.
RouteWillamette River
BuilderOregon Railroad & Navigation Co.
Launched31 December 1895[1]
Maiden voyage10 January 1896
Out of service1920[2]
IdentificationUS Official Number 111103
General characteristics
Class and typeriverine steamboat, passenger/freighter
Tonnage
Length156 ft 4 in (47.65 m)[3]
Beam34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)[3]
Depth4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)[3]
Installed powerTwin single-cylinder horizontally mounted steam engines, 14" bore by 54" stroke, 13 NHP[2]
Propulsionstern wheeler
Crew20

The steamboat Ruth operated from 1896 to 1917 on the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon.[2] Ruth played an important role in the transport of goods and agricultural products in Oregon, and was one of the fastest steamboats ever to operate on the upper Willamette. This vessel should not be confused with the sternwheeler Ruth built at Libby, Montana in 1896.[2]

  1. ^ "Upper River Traffic". Statesman Journal. 3 January 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 6 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  2. ^ a b c d Affleck, Century of Paddlewheelers, at 24.
  3. ^ a b c d e Merchant Vessels of the United States. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. 1913–1914.