When 'Steam was Queen'

When 'Steam was Queen'. . Prior to the 1870s, only a hardy handful of explorers, traders, whalers and sealers worked Alaska's rugged coastline. Following the 1867 purchase of the Territory from Russia, regular boat service from U.S. ports to Sitka began on a monthly schedule. During the following nine years of U.S. occupation, mail was delivered no further north than the Sitka outpost, though a mail contract was granted in 1870 to inspire more frequent service. From Portland and San Francisco, a variety of fortune hunters and speculators sailed off to Alaska for business and pleasure, joined by an occasional curious tourist., In 1875, the Oregon Steamship Company took over the mail contract, until 1881 , when the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. began running the Ancon, Idaho and later the Eureka to Southeast monthly. Pacific Coast S.S. Co. evolved into Pacific Steamship Co. , “The Admiral Line” , in 1916, and was bought out by Alaska Steamship Co. in 1933. Alaska Steam (1894 1971), became Alaska's largest line and longest-lived, servicing not only Southeast, but all coastal points. Other major companies which served Alaska were Northland Transportation Co. (1923-1948); Canadian Pacific Steamship Co. of Vancouver, B.C. (Canadian Pacific's S.S. Princess Patricia retired in 1981, ending a long line of “Princesses” frequenting Ketchikan and SE Alaska.), Many other companies came to Alaska to establish their lines, some joining the above through merger or acquisition. These included Canadian National S.S. Co., a division of Canadian Railways (which operated both of the famous liners named S.S. Prince George); Alaska Transportation Co., (which began during WW2); Northwestern S.S. Co. (merged with Alaska Steam in 1918); Pacific Alaska Navigation Co. (merged with Pacific S.S. Co.); and the lesser-known Washington and Alaska Steamship Co., West Coast Steam Navigation Co., Pacific Steam Whaling Co. (later becoming Pacific Packing and Navigation Co.), and the line operated by the Alaska Commercial Co., For nearly a century, Alaskan steamships of yesteryear provided faithful regular service as the principal means of moving people and their wares from “Outside.” They were instrumental in initiating the rapid development of the Last Frontier. The long and winding Inside Passage to Alaska, with its many narrow, fog and tide-swept channels and rocky pinnacles, made it a hard-won tradition. Today's modern fleets of visiting commercial cruise ships and Alaska Marine Highway ferries seen plying majestically through Southeastern's waters mimic that grand bygone era., Captions , (Top, left to right) , . S.S. Alaska in Tongass Narrows, circa late 1800s Tongass Historical Society , . Ketchikan, 1910 Tongass Historical Society , (Middle) S.S. Ancon, Pacific Coast S.S. Co.'s early-day side-wheeler, was one of the most unique classical designs to sail under steam during the pioneering steamship era in Alaska. Built in 1868 on the East Coast, she sailed around Cape Horn to begin runs to Alaska by 1885, in time for Alaska's 1880s Gold Rush boom. 3-week round-trip excursions to Alaska commanded a fare of $140 from San Francisco, or $100 from Portland. The steamer put-in to Victoria and Nanaimo, B.C. to take on coal, and stopped at Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka and at most salmon canneries and salteries then in operation. The pioneer Ancon survived having her paddles smashed while taking tourists into uncharted waters at Glacier Bay, and running onto a rock in Icy Strait. Her luck finally ran-out at Loring, just north of Ketchikan, on August 28, 1889. On departure, high winds blew her on the rocky shore, where her heavy cargo broke her back. No passengers were lost, and her 14,000 cases of canned salmon salvaged. Ancon's boilers are still visible at extreme low tide. Tongass Historical Society , (Bottom, clockwise from top right) , . S.S. Mariposa, 1912. D. Nichols/THS , . City of Seattle ashore near Ketchikan, Alaska D. Nichols/THS , . 1/22/16 Winter and Pond/THS , . Winter and Pond/THS