Testing the Depth: A Steamer’s Experimental Voyage
Captain J. R. Blanchard brings his steamer, the Alice, into Aberdeen to prove the harbor's potential for deep-water trade.
Capt. J. R. Blanchard, owner of the Alice Blanchard, the steamer that made her first trip into Aberdeen Saturday, expressed himself well pleased with the city. 'This is merely an experimental trip. I came to see if there was sufficient depth in the channel to allow a steamer the size of the Alice to come in with freight at low tide. I remained at the wharf here until extreme low tide, when I had the steamer run without a pilot, down to the long wharf of Grays Harbor City. In no place did I find the depth of water less than fifteen feet. I expect to build up a good trade with this city and other places on the Harbor. The Alice has new machinery and sufficient power to make the run regularly between Portland and the Sound and will drop in here regularly.'
“In no place did I find the depth of water less than fifteen feet, and soundings were taken every few feet.”
This event captures the period of rapid industrial transformation as Grays Harbor was aggressively marketed as a deep-water shipping hub. The tension between natural geography and the necessity of dredging and pilotage remains a central theme in coastal Washington port infrastructure today.
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