The Willapa Prepares for the North
A new steamship line launches its pioneer vessel to capture the growing trade between Puget Sound and Alaska.
Charles E. Peabody, general manager of the Alaska Steamship Company, the latest arrival in the field for the trade between Puget Sound and Alaska, was in the city yesterday making arrangements for the sailing of the steamer Willapa, the pioneer of the new line, on March 3, from Schwabacher's wharf. To a Post-Intelligencer reporter yesterday Mr. Peabody said: 'The new boiler for the steamer is in and is one of the finest ever seen in this country. The engines have been entirely renovated, and the finishing touches are being placed on the cabins and exterior of the boat. We will leave this city at 10 o'clock a. m., March 3, and connect with the Farallon, from San Francisco, at Port Townsend.' Mr. J. G. Carroll has been appointed Seattle agent, and will attend to the business of the company in this city. 'We are in the field to stay and are meeting with a great deal of encouragement from business men, both in this city and in Alaska. Captain George Roberts, for years captain of the City of Kingston and one of the owners of the new line, will be in command, and the remainder of the officers and employees of the boat are experienced and courteous men.'
“We are in the field to stay and are meeting with a great deal of encouragement from business men, both in this city and in Alaska.”
The Alaska Steamship Company became a titan of the North Pacific, fueling the Klondike Gold Rush just a few years after this announcement. Today, the legacy of that maritime connection persists in the heavy cruise ship and freight traffic that still defines Seattle's waterfront relationship with Alaska.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.