Kennebec Steamboat Company ...Kennebec Steamboat Company Account Books, 1866-1890
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Arrangement
Abstract
Administrative/Biographical History
Star of the East (Sidewheel steamer) built 1866: After the Civil War ended in 1865, the Kennebec Steamboat Company provided service between the Kennebec River ports and Boston. John Englis of New York was asked by the company to build a new steamer to be ready for the 1866 season. The new sidewheel steamer was launched from John Englis yard on Tenth Street, East River on December 2 1865. Her name at that time was the Eastern Star (Sidewheel steamer) and was owned by Isaac Rich of Boston. After her successful trial trip on April 25 1866, Captain Jason Collins took command of her and she was renamed Star of the East. In 1869, her new owners were Captain Collins and Peter G. Bradstreet of Gardner, Maine; Isaac Rick, Thomas A. Rich, and Andrew Pierce, all three of Boston; Edward S. Dane of Brookline; Aaron B. Vanever of Malden; and Thomas W. Pierce of Topsfield, Massachusetts.1
The sidewheel steamer Star of the East cost $180,000 and was considered the best in what a coastwise passenger vessel should look like. She was larger and more luxurious then her predecessor, the Eastern Queen (Sidewheel steamer). She Measured 1,413 gross tons with a length of 244.2 feet, a breadth of 352 feet and depth of hold 12.8 feet. Between 1866 and 1889, the sidewheel steamer Star of the East, under the command of Capt. Jason Collins, made trips between Kennebec and Boston. During the winters, Capt. Jason Collins ran the sidewheel steamer Eastern Queen from Bath, Maine.
In October 1875, the Star of the East struck the schooner A. Hammond off Gloucester taking out her main rigging. In August 1878, the Star of the East struck a schooner off Bowdoinham while traveling down river causing some damage to the steamer. On her return trip she hit another schooner loaded with ice bound for Washington, D.C. This caused damage to the schooner’s deck. In 1882, she struck the Boston three-mast schooner Edward R. Emerson that, at the time, was unloading coal in June . Sadly, the schooner’s booms swung and fatally struck a passenger.1 The sidewheel steamer Star of the East ran for 25 years between July 1886 and June 1891. On June 23, she was refitted, refurnished, and given a new coat of paint before being renamed Sagadahoc.
Magnet (Screw steamer) built 1871: The screw steamer Magnet was built in 1871 in Portland, Maine. She was considered a day boat. The Magnet was a small steamer weighing 23.55 gross tons, 11.77 net tons with a nominal horsepower of 25. Very little is known about her history. She was enrolled in Bath in 1874 and her master was Captain Anthony Sprague. The same parties who had an interest in the sidewheel steamer Star of the East, which included Capt. Jason Collins, also owned the Magnet. The Magnet succeeded the steamer Augusta in 1874.1 Owners of the Magnet placed her on the route from Augusta to Boothbay. In 1885, the screw steamers Henry Morrison, Mabel F. and Islander replaced the Magnet .2
Islander (Screw steamer) built 1883: The Kennebec river passenger screw steamer Islander was the first of three steamers by that name, was built in 1883 at Bath, Maine. Her builder was the famous yacht builder, Charles B. Harrington. She was described as:
“having two cabins, the ladies’ being finished and furnished in a most elegant manner and containing all the modern improvements. In connection with this cabin are several small rooms provided with all the advantages and comforts of home, thus making it as pleasant for invalids as for the well and hearty.” 3
The 106-foot, 118 gross ton screw steamer, owned by the Kennebec & Boothbay Steamboat Company, was launched on May 3, 1883 as a day boat, a ferry service carrying passengers between Bath and the Boothbay Harbor.
Captain Leonard Williams took the screw steamer Islander out on her first trip. During a fog three weeks after her first run, “she ran on a reef near Capital Island ripping her keel and bottom planking and setting her engine up 11 inches.”1 After her repairs from this incident, the screw steamer was then commanded by William Curtis, who had also commanded the sidewheel steamer Star of the East at one time. Islander continued to offer passengers service between Boothbay and her Islands, Augusta, Hallowell, Richmond, Bath and Gardiner. In March 1890, the Islander was taken off the Augusta—Boothbay route and employed as a transfer boat between Popham and Boothbay. The Islander was later commanded by Captain Ellra Dunton. In 1902, the Islander was owned by the Seaconnet Lines running out of Providence, Rhode Island. By 1910, the she was reported sold and ran out of Provincetown. In 1925 her homeport was Providence, Rhode Island.1
Kennebec (Sidewheel steamer) built 1889: The sidewheel steamer Kennebec was built in Bath, Maine in 1889 by the New England Company for the Kennebec Steamboat Company. She was to be a companion boat to the Star of the East (Sidewheel steamer.) Her official launch date was March 20, 1889. William Potter Pattee, a naval draughtsman and master shipbuilder for the firm Pattee & Rideout designed the Kennebec. Constructed of wood and iron, the sidewheel steamer, Kennebec was 1,652 gross tons, had a 250-foot keel and was 60 feet in breadth. Captain Jason Collins, who oversaw the building of the sidewheel steamer, commanded her. The Kennebec was 12 feet longer and 2.4 feet wider than the sidewheel steamer Star of the East. However, she was only 0.3 feet deeper due to the sawdust bottom of the river, which prevented the steamer from going any deeper. 1
The sidewheel steamer Kennebec’s 800 horse-power engine was built by Quintard Iron Words of New York. Her boiler, the largest built in Maine to that time, was built by South Division of the Bath Iron Works. 1
Like the sidewheel steamer Star of the East, the Kennebec had her share of accidents and mishaps. On Sunday July 12, 1891, the Kennebec broke her rudder coming into Popham pier. There was not enough room for the sidewheel steamer to make fast and her stern swung on the sand causing her rudder to break. She was towed to Bath, placed on a marine railway and her rudder replaced. The Kennebec was back “on route” the following Friday, July 17.4
The Kennebec was grounded on October 3, 1893 at Pond Island. In an attempt to pass between two schooners through a small channel upon Pond Island, she found herself too near the short. In trying to get out, her stern became grounded on the beach. Although the Kennebec was able to pull herself off only to realize her steering gear was disabled. The tug Clara Clarita came to her assistance towing the Kennebec to Bath for repairs The sternwheel steamer Della Collins finished the trip for the Kennebec by taking the passengers and freight to Gardiner.5
In 1905, the sidewheel steamer Kennebec was sold to Fall River, Rhode Island where she joined the fleet of the Enterprise Transportation Company. The Enterprise Transportation Company was starting a new line of steamers between the city of River Falls and New York. Capt. George W. Colby would be taking command of the Kennebec. By 1910-1911, she was making runs to Long Island Sound. On January 2, 1911, during a dense fog, the Kennebec, now owned by the Enterprise Transportation Company, was found piled up on Pasque Island, Vineyard Sound, lashed by gale. The revenue cutter Acushnet and tug Underwriter worked alongside the vessel in an attempt to free her. After 17 days, she was pulled into deep water and towed to Tarpaulin Cove for repairs.6 The sidewheel steamer Kennebec retired in 1911 after a long run of 22 years.
References cited:
1. Baker (1973). A Maritime History of Bath, Maine and the Kennebec River Region. Vol. II. Bath, ME: Marine Research Society of Bath. 2. “Steamboating on the Kennebec.” Bath Daily Times, 3 May 1886. 3. “Steamer Islander Shows Her Heals to a Sixteen-Knot Side Wheeler.” Bath Daily Times, 2 September 1902. 4. Bath Independent, 15 July 1891 5. Bath Independent, 3 October 3 1893. 6. “Kennebec in Trouble.” Bath Daily Times, 2 January 1911 and “ The Kennebec Floated.” Bath Daily Times, 19 January 1911.
Subjects (links to similar collections)Accounts
Clarion (Screw steamer)
Coastwise navigation
Collins, Jason, Captain, 1817-1907
Della Collins (Sternwheel steamer)
Eastern Queen (Sidewheel steamer)
Gardiner (ME)
Islander (Screw steamer)
Kennebec & Boothbay Steamboat Company
Kennebec (Sidewheel steamer)
Kennebec Steamboat Company
Magnet (Screw steamer)
Sagadahoc (Sidewheel steamer)
Star of the East (Sidewheel steamer)
Steamboat lines
Steamboats
Wages
Administrative InformationThis was part of a large collection of papers and objects for a steamers exhibition. Charles Burden purchased these items from John Newton of Wiscasset Antiques.
The collection of steamer accounts include a pocket account book of repairs for the Star of the East (Sidewheel steamer) dated 1866-67 and a passengers account book dated 1884-1888. The repair account book also includes repairs for the sternwheel steamer Della Collins and steamer Clarion, both belonging to the Kennebec Steamboat Company. The passengers account book for the Star of the East also includes passenger accounts for the sternwheel steamer Della Collins between 1885 and 1888 and the screw steamer Islander between 1886 and 1888.
There is an account book for the Magnet (screw steamer) dated 1874 and includes memoranda of bills with a Mr. Chas. White and an account with Jason Collins, who had ownership of the Magnet (Screw steamer).
There is an account book for bills paid in the 1888 season for the screw steamer Islander. The front cover states, "Bills paid for the season of 1888. Supplies, repairs & C&C." However, inside the book only lists tickets on hand for the screw steamer Islander, not repairs. There is also one seaman's time book for 1883. Two blank forms were found inside the time book: an application for license and a Power of Attorney for proxy vote in the Kennebec Central R. R. Company.
There is one passenger book for the sidewheel steamer Kennebec dated 1890-1893. This includes “river” passengers. The book also includes the number of all passengers for the sidewheel steamer Sagadahoc during those same years. This book shows that in 1893 the number of passengers listed for the Kennebec was 32,848 with 11,920 for the Sagadahoc bringing in a total of 44,768. However, it then give 1/5 of these numbers to the sternwheel steamer Della Colilns (8,953). There is also one small lank book titled “Kennebec Steamboat Co. Steamer Kennebec.”
The sidewheel steamers Kennebec and Star of the East were night boats carrying passengers to Boston. One passenger book for the sidewheel steamer Kennebec dated 1890-1893 had "river" passengers. The Kennebec, on its way down to Boston, would make stops along the way at various towns such as Bath or Augusta. “River” passengers are those who would get off at these local ports. Sometimes a church group or family would rent a steamer for a day drip to one of the islands. This was identified as an “excursion” in the account books. The screw steamers Islander and Magnet were day boats and would be used for excursions.