The Ferryboat War of Elliott Bay
A high-stakes territorial dispute over a commercial shipping slip leads to a dangerous maritime game of chicken between two competing steamships.
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.
A fierce controversy between the O. R. & N. Company and the West Seattle Ferry Company over the occupancy of the slip of the latter, adjoining the O. R. & N. wharf, culminated in a collision in the harbor yesterday morning. The steamer Hayward attempted to block the course of the ferryboat City of Seattle as both were running at a high rate of speed. When Captain Oliver of the City of Seattle steamed across the harbor from West Seattle to his landing, he found the Hayward, recently returned from Whatcom, lying at the north end of the O. R. & N. Co.’s dock, completely blocking the path. After some maneuvering, the ferry attempted to exit, but as it emerged into the harbor, the Hayward steamed directly across her course. Both vessels raced through the water at a rapid speed, their courses converging until a collision became inevitable. Captain Oliver of the ferry reversed his engines, but the momentum was so great that the City of Seattle jammed into the Hayward. Panic ensued among the passengers, and one man jumped from the deck of the Hayward onto the ferry, fearing his ship would be cut in two. Both ships survived the impact, though the Hayward suffered significant damage to her upper deck. Captain Oliver claimed this was but another instance of the O. R. & N. Company attempting to hinder their operations, asserting they had been subject to constant 'annoyance' and physical damage to their vessels since taking over the slip.
“The steamer kept on her course and passed to the front of the ferry, and the momentum of the City of Seattle was so great that her wheels in reversing retarded her very little and she jammed into the Hayward.”
This 1889 maritime standoff mirrors the aggressive, often cutthroat nature of Seattle’s modern infrastructure fights. Just as the ferry company struggled for access to a vital sliver of dock space against a larger incumbent corporation, today's local conflicts over public space, waterfront development, and the 'right of way' in a rapidly growing city remain just as contentious.
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