The Great Steamship Wars of Puget Sound
A fierce battle for transit supremacy erupts as railroad giants clash over the future of Seattle’s harbor trade.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
From reliable sources, it is learned that the Northern Pacific railroad intends to place a line of steamers on Puget Sound in opposition to the O.R. & N. This is to checkmate the latter’s movement in placing steamers between Portland and Puget Sound and in issuing tickets from the Sound to the East. It is known that the Northern Pacific officials have written to John Irving of Victoria, president of the Canadian Pacific Steam Navigation Company, asking him to charter suitable steamers to ply between this city and Victoria.
The company will not have much trouble in finding stable boats for the trade. The steamer 'Jacob Kamm,' one of the fastest steamers on the Columbia river except the 'Telephone,' is currently at Portland, and 'Cassie Scott' will probably be selected to contest with the 'Telephone.' Either of these boats will distance every steamer now on the Sound except the 'T.J. Potter.' Indications point to the fact that the Northern Pacific will inaugurate a trans-Sound service at the earliest possible date, and that the coming summer will witness the liveliest steam-boating Puget Sound has ever known.
“Indications point to the fact that the Northern Pacific will inaugurate a trans-Sound service at the earliest possible date, and that the coming summer will witness the liveliest steam-boating Puget Sound has ever known.”
This 1889 maritime power struggle foreshadows today’s intense regional debates over regional infrastructure, ferry service expansion, and the dominance of transit corridors. Just as rail barons fought over the Sound in the late 19th century, current regional leaders continue to grapple with the logistics of moving people and goods across the ever-expanding metropolitan footprint.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.