Built In Humboldt Bay, CA
The S. S. FULTON (121064); a steam powered stearn-winder schooner built in 1898 by Hans Ditlev Bendixsen in Fairhaven, located in Humboldt Bay, CA. She was 152.7 ft long and 33.5 ft wide and 11.4 ft deep. She had a compound steam engine (12x26x20) that put out 250 IHP and carried 380 tons and 18 crew members.
First Route to Marshfield, OR
FULTON was first delivered to George D. Gray from Bendixsen shipyard by the tug SEA KING. In the first month of service under California & Oregon Coast Steamship Co., also owned by George D. Gray, the FULTON started a regular route bringing supplies to the beginning town of Marshfield OR. (today called Coos Bay) Service there continued until the end of summer when George D. Gray was convinced by William Wood to get into the Gold Rush business. Stopping the route to Marshfield left ill feelings toward California & Oregon Coast Steamship Co., even though they substituted another ship (Steamer HUENEME) to pick up the route.
Gold Hunters
With only a few months underway, the FULTON was chartered to the Seattle-Yukon Transportation Co. A partnership endevor with George D. Gray of San Francisco, owner of the West Coast Lumber Co., along with other partners such as Emma Bendixsen and Dora F. Tate, (share holders in the FULTON) and ex-Seattle Mayor William Wood, who served as president of the Seattle-Yukon Transportation Co. Wood saw the opportunity to cash in on the Yukon Gold Rush and provide transportation for people going North to the Yukon so he resigned as mayor of Seattle and helped secure $150,000 from investors in the Seattle area to start the Seattle-Yukon Transportation Co. The FULTON was only used for a short time to carry passengers to St. Michael. The first passengers were allowed to pay part of the passage by agreeing to assemble SEATTLE No.1 (US#116853), nicknamed the “Mukluk”, and a barge that was identical to the SEATTLE’s hull. Other Steamers were dedicated to the Seattle-Yukon route but the FULTON returned to the California & Oregon Coast Co. routes between Portland OR and San Francisco.
Into the Dog-Holes
The FULTON spent a lot of time between Portland and San Francisco with stops along Southern OR., and Northern CA., picking up redwood lumber from “Dog-Holes” ports. Most of this time was under the command of Capt. H. O. Levinson.
In 1900, George D. Gray dissolved his partnership with William A. Mitchell. Gray retained the lumber businesses while Mitchell took over the management of some of the steamships. Not much changed for the FULTON as routes and contracts continued the same as before until the chater/sale to Montesano Steamship Co.
S. S. FULTON Almost Lost
While under charter to Montesano Steamship Co., a storm forced the FULTON ashore on the southern Oregon coast in Port Orford harbor, February 11, 1904. Capt. Lee anchored at Port Ordford harbor due to a beginning storm and being low on coal. After two days of stormy conditions, the wind finally broke her anchor chains. Seeing an opportunity to save the FULTON and crew, Capt. Lee headed the FULTON for the beach, which she struck head on. The wind eventually broke the mainmast and the seas began sweeping the decks and breaking up the lumber cargo. During the attempt to get a line ashore the second-mate, Ingvaldsen, was drowned when their row boat capsized by loose timber in the surf. The other two men with him made it ashore hanging onto that same timber . They were trying to secure a line to the shore so that a life raft could be safely pulled ashore. The rest of the crew were rescued two by two on the life raft.
On May 1, 1904 the FULTON was refloated and taken in tow by the steamer DESPATCH assisted by the tug SEA ROVER to San Francisco for inspection and repairs. During the trip to San Francisco the FULTON was barely floating with one foot of sideboard above water. By the time they reached Humboldt Bay, the wind from the Northwest rose to hurricane forces and the hawser parted. After floating around for a day and night they managed to get a line aboard her again only to have it parted a 2nd time. Capt. Levinson of the DESPATCH eventually succeeded in getting her back under tow and delivered to San Francisco Bay despite the horrendous weather. Once they arrived at San Francisco Bay, the tug SEA PRINCE and J. H. REDMOND took over and delivered the FULTON to drydock. By July 26, 1904, the FULTON was under command of Capt. Panzer and heading for Westport WA.
Side Note: A few years later Martine & Ragna Ingvaldsen (mother & daughter) of 2nd Mate Ingvaldsen sued the owners (Fulton Steamship Company owned by Emma Bendixsen and Dora Tate) and won an undisclosed settlement. A few years later the FULTON was sold to Montesano Steamship Co. (and their Canadian partners Dodwell & Co.) who had been leasing the FULTON.
San Francisco Earthquake & Fire
18 April 1906, San Francisco was shaken by an 8.3 earthquake at 5:15 a.m. Lumber demand for the San Francisco area had always been high and profitable, but now with over 500 blocks destroyed (3,400 acres) and 225,000 people homeless, the demand for lumber skyrocketed. Just the demand for the 6,200 temporary cottages to be built by the Army Corp of Engineers was enormass. The cottages had cedar-shingle roofs, fir floors and redwood walls. The American Lumberman reported that Washington millmen were ready to supply 10,000,000 feet of lumber per day. The FULTON was in the midst of this and continued lumber shipments to California until about 1912.
Montesano Steamship Company
Purchased for $22,500 July 1st, 1911 by Montesano Steamship Co., the FULTON continued to work the waters between Montesano, WA., and San Francisco, CA. Montesano Steamship Co had financial ties to Dodwell & Co (a Canadian Co.)
The Montesano Steamship Co. was incorporated late in the year of 1901 by, Dr. F. L. Carr, Charles H. Clemons, W. H. Bush, George W. Ninemire, J. T. Durdle, Eldridge Wheeler and J. J. Johnson. The company originally chartered the FULTON from California & Oregon Coast Steamship, and later chartered it from Fulton Steamship Company before they outright purchased the FULTON in 1911. FULTON operated between Montesano, on the Chehalis River above Grays Harbor, to San Francisco. Montesano Steamship Co was dissolved 3 Feb 1914.
Side Note: Clemons was president of the Clemons Logging Co. later owned by Weyerhaeuser and the Clemons Tree Farm was named after him.
Montesano Steamship went out of business in 1914 and the FULTON was already partly owned by a financial partner, Dodwell & Co., LTD. (George W. Neimeyer and Assc. with an office at 1144 Henry Blvd, Seattle WA.) When the FULTON was in Vancouver BC, she docked at Dodwell & Co., docks leased from Evans, Coleman & Evans Wharf Co. Pier 1.
Early in 1912, before Montesano went out of business, Dodwell & Co. had plans to use the FULTON in operating between Seattle, Tacoma and British Columbia ports. With this new plan the FULTON was modified in Vancouver BC by adding a sheltered deck and increased the FULTON’s tonnage from 380 to 605. These modifications were not legally permitted or properly inspected which resulted in some legal issues for the FULTON.
VESSEL WITHOUT A FLAG
“The legal issue at hand that resulted in the forfeited American registry was the failure to record the last sale and the modifications that increased her tonnage. This resulted in her becoming a vessel without a flag.”
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin 10 July 1912
The FULTON was seized in Seattle, WA., 29 June 1912 under the charge that it had been operating without proper registry under current ownership. It is now in the unique position of being a vessel without a flag. The US government had an Alien Tonnage dues claim of $30,000 against it. The FULTON was owned by Montesano Steamship Co., but a controlling interest was owned by Dodwell & Co. of British Columbia and they had been operating her between Puget Sound and British Columbia ports. Dodwell & Co. had added to her structure in Canada making her capable of 605 tons without registering this change. To remedy the situation Dodwell partnered with Ancil F. Haines and his Border line Transportation Co. (investors included Frank Waterhouse) and they took on the FULTON as their first steamship. Ancil also worked for Dodwell as director and manager overseeing the operations of Dodwell Dock and Warehouse Company in Seattle and Tacoma. (They eventually merged with Pacific Coast Steamship Company and Ancil remained manager and vice president. Later Pacific Coast Steamship Co. was bought out by Admiral Line but the FULTON remained under Dodwell & Co. through their partnership with Border line Transportation Co.)
Once the registry problem had been cleared up the FULTON, along with other Border Line Transportation steamers EDITH and WAKENA, routes to British Columbia canneries increased to every three days with stops in Blaine, Bellingham, Anacortes, Everett, Victoria, Vancouver, Powell River, Van Anda, and the Pacific Lime Mills. Records show that in 1920, the FULTON was using Evans, Coleman & Evans Wharf Co., Pier 1, (Dodwell & Co.) in Vancouver B.C. as a home port, offering General Freighting with regular sailings. (Pacific Ports Manual 1920) Even though the FULTON was mostly working for Dodwell & Co., she was still owned and operated by Border Line Transportation Co until 1927 when the FULTON was sold to a “Fulton Packing Co., TA” and converted to a barge working fish out of Pier 12 in Seattle.
FULTON Runs Aground
The S. S. FULTON lucked out on January 11, 1922 when she ran around on Bumaby Shoal, in Vancouver Harbor. Once she refloated there was no damage. But within a few months she was in dry dock to have her propeller replaced. By the time 1922 was out, the FULTON was in dry-docks 3 times for repairs.
FULTON In Flames
21 January 1923: News papers in Seattle reported that Fire Chief George M. Mantor and six other firefighters were overcome by gas and smoke while fighting a fire in the hold of the steam schooner FULTON at the Union Pacific docks. Only the Fire Chief was seriously injured. The FULTON was loading a cargo of general merchandise for Vancouver and British Columbia ports when the fire broke out. The fire started in the forward hold among bales of oakum and spread to the forecastle and the cargo deck. It was extinguished before it had done heavy damage, the loss estimated at only a few hundred dollars. The Fire Chief was taken to his home in an unconscious condition where he later revived, while the other fire fighters were revived at the dock.
Unrigged Barge FULTON
1927 saw the FULTON stripped of most of her superstructure and converted to a barge. The first company is listed as Fulton Packing Co., a fish packing business working out of Pier 12 in Seattle. Most likely the owner and operator was George R. Osborn who also owned Pioneer Towing Co. and is listed as manager for the fish processing company at Pier 12 in Seattle. George also had shares in other companies that used the FULTON as a barge. Dressel Collins Fish Co. Pier 12 Seattle, and Olympic Lighterage Co. Seattle WA. George Osborn had other partners such as A. J. Cooper and O. W. Helwig. George also had a brother who may have been a partner at the time, Wilbur R. Osborn of Grays Harbor. Eventually Wilbur Osborn takes over control of the FULTON and uses it in the Willapa Bay area as a barge for hauling sand and gravel.
FULTON in Willapa
A large number of improvements were happening in the area during FULTON’s barging timeframe in the Willapa River area. Highway to Aberdeen and the Port of Willapa Improvement. W. R. Osborn owned Willapa Towing in Raymond, and he also had mining claims for sand and rock in the area. There are some indications he also had a hand in local dredging and lightering. The property from which Osborn operated his barges (including the FULTON) is in the area of Cutoff Slough in the South Fork of the Willapa River. Osborn had numerous other barges and abandoned them all in the South Fork of the Willapa River.
If you visit The Barge restaurant on Hwy 101 in Raymond WA., you can still see the FULTON along with 3 other barges nearby. The one nearest the restaurant is the barge FOREST 12.
A little distance away is two more barges from Willapa Towing & Barge owned by W. R. Osborn; WILLAPA 1 & WILLAPA 2. They are near the Hwy 6 power substation.