Steamboat Service Stalls Hay Shipments
An Oregon hay buyer finds local river transportation unreliable, threatening the viability of Kennewick's agricultural trade.
E. O. Butler, a hay and grain merchant from The Dalles, Oregon, arrived in Kennewick seeking to purchase alfalfa hay. Despite being quoted a $1.50 per ton shipping rate by the steamboat company, Butler was later told by the local agent that the boats were too busy hauling grain to accommodate his hay orders. Butler expressed frustration, noting that the high cost of rail alternatives makes shipping unprofitable without the river route. He warned that if the unreliable steamer service continues, it will damage the prospects for a mutually beneficial trade relationship between Kennewick and The Dalles.
“If this kind of steamer service is to continue I can't see where you are going to be greatly benefitted.”
This reflects the early 20th-century reliance on river infrastructure to overcome the high cost of rail transit. The tension between farmers and transportation monopolists is a classic feature of regional economic history.
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