Decline and End of Riverine Transport
The Ellingson yard built Relief in 1916, a 44 ton passenger and freight boat, which turned out to be the last new sternwheeler built on the Coquille River.
In 1924, the gasoline launch Charm was taken off the Coquille River route, and sold to Shaver Transportation Company, who re-equipped her with a 90 horsepower (67 kW) diesel engine and put her in service as a log boom boat.
The Myrtle Point Transportation Company owned the last riverboats on the Coquille. Stockholders of the company were Russell Panter, Walter Panter, William A. Panter, Paris Ward, and the Huffard brothers. Paris Ward owned a ranch near Bandon, and as the demand for riverine transport ended, the Panter family's boats were abandoned at the shore of his ranch, where by 1971 what remained of their hulls had filled up with sand.
Links to photos of the steamboat graveyard at the Ward ranch, all taken on June 26, 1941, showing Myrtle, Telegraph, and Dora beached along the Coquille River near Bandon. Note that while the Salem Public Library Images do not identify these steamers, Marshall does in his book and provides a photograph of the same place, at a slightly different time: Myrtle was apparently abandoned further inshore than Telegraph. This may explain why it appears that only two boats are abandoned on shore in photos taken from the water. Panter also identifies the three abandoned sternwheelers by name.
- Abandoned sternwheeler on the Coquille River, probably Telegraph, 1941
- Another view of same abandoned sternwheeler on Coquille River, showing a second vessel on the right
- Third photo of abandoned sternwheeler and other vessel, from different angle
Read more about this topic: Steamboats Of The Coquille River
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