Steamboats of The Coquille River - Passengers and Cargoes Carried

Passengers and Cargoes Carried

Very large numbers of people were sometimes transported on the small riverboats. For one baseball game at Bandon, Dispatch came down from Coquille with about 400 people aboard, and Telegraph arrived with 150. At one point, Telegraph ran eight different Saturdays along the river to carry people to dances, sometimes at Prosper, sometimes at Parkersburg, Lampa and Riverton.

Coal mines in the area, served by the riverine craft, were at Lampa Creek, Panter's Ranch, Riverton, and Coquille. Coal was loaded onto ships bound for San Francisco. Early schools in the area were located at Bandon, Prosper, Randolph, Parkersburg, Lampa Creek, Riverton, Coquille, Arago, Myrtle Point, and Beaver Slough. The Pearcy Hanly ranch, across from Lampa Creek, shipped milk to Bandon on the river steamers for many years. There were a number of sawmills, salmon canneries, and other concerns along the river, including a woolen mill and a match factory at Bandon, all of which seem to have been served by the river boats.