Historic Hood River
Engine from Steamer Mary
3-7-2016
Notes
Notes indicate this is the steam engine from the “Steamer Mary in early sawmill days.” I think this is the engine which is now next to the museum. Does anyone know where this picture was taken? The cars look like 1960s.
The Steamer Mary operated from the upper Cascades to the Dalles between 1853 to 1861. When she was dismantled I believe the engine was used for sawmill operations.
There is a nice model of the Steamer Mary at the Cascade Locks Museum.
Mary was the first steamer on this section of the river. Next time I walk past the engine down at the museum I will show more respect.
Arlen Sheldrake
While I have no memory of this display, could the location be behind the county building with the stairway to the left? Pretty small engine.
Norma
I used to literally run down the steps every Saturday to have lunch with my dad at the Legion Club and I don’t remember ever seeing this display.
Guess we could try and get in tough with Barbara Bible Lee as she lived in the house shown to the left of the steps.
L.E.
Gosh… I didn’t know there were remains of the Mary in the area!
A sturdy little sidewheeler, with a short, but eventful life.
Here is the story of "The Mary"
http://www.columbiagorge.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Steamship_Mary.pdf
Arthur
I’ll admit the only time I took notice of this steam engine was when it was invaded by a hive of honeybees last summer. I’m surprised to learn it predates the Civil War and the European settlement of Hood River.
L.E.
Is there actual evidence or a paper trail that confirms this is the engine from the Mary?
Arthur
L.E., you and I think alike. I was planning to do a little research on the provenance of this engine next time I’m down at the museum. I’ll check the casting for any indication of the engine’s manufacture date and location, and see if anyone has any records tying this engine with the Steamer Mary. All I have at this moment is a note on the back of this image indicating the engine was from the Mary.
Arthur
This 1902 Oregonian article contains an account by Lawrence Coe of the role of the Steamer Mary in the "Cascades Massacre":
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1902-01-03/ed-1/seq-10/
L.E.
According to "List of Steamboats on the Columbia River", the Mary was dismantled in 1862 at The Dalles.
L.E.
For anyone else who might want to do some research on this engine named "Mary"…
Attwell built his steamer "Mary" and named her for his wife. She probably is the one involved in the Cascade Massacre, which blew up at Mosier and sank off Mitchell Pt., taken to The Dalles and left to rot, but she might not be this engine Mary.
P.F. Bradford built one of the first steamers and named her the "Mary P. Flint" which was his mother’s name. He also built the Jason P. Flint steamer.
Both P.F. Bradford and his son Flint Bradford at one time lived in HR and are buried at Idlewilde.
Arthur
I visited this engine at the museum. The casting has a few marks on it:
1) Hinkley & Co. Fulton Foundry San Francisco
2) Pickering Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat Off
3) 3 1/2 The Pickering Portland. Conn. U.S.A.
There is also a bronze plaque which states:
"Steam Engine
This Engine was used to power one of the early river boats used on the Columbia River east of the Cascade Mts. in the 1850s.
During the Indian uprising of 1856 it us believed that it powered the river boar "Mary" when she brought settlers from Cascade Locks.
This engine was later used as a source of power for the first flour mill at the Dalles Ore. After this it was purchased by the Oregon Lumber Co. and was used in their sawmill in the La Grande area.
{Paragraph missing– ground off the plaque}
In 1959 Anton Lausman the last owner presented it to the Hood River County Museum who reconditioned it and placed it here for display."
Arthur
Additional notes:
1) The Pickering Governor Company in Portland CT. made steam governors (speed regulators) starting in 1862.
2) Daniel Hinckley started the Fulton Foundry in San Francisco in 1855
Unfortunately these dates don’t work well for a ship reported to be built in 1853 and dismantled in 1862. The regulator could have been replaced, but it’s hard to imagine the main casting was replaced.
I’ll note that Hinckley did have a foundry as early as 1850, so I guess it’s possible the 1892 account which dates the Fulton Foundry to 1855 could be incorrect.
It’s not uncommon to find inconsistencies in histories, especially of objects and events on the frontier. I am skeptical of the claim this if from the Mary, but it will take more research to get a more definitive answer.
Bill P
The best history of Engine Mary I found is in "The Swivel-Chair Logger". The life and work of Anton A."Tony" Lausmann. Chapter 15, pages 243, 244 and 245.
Bill P.
J.E. Sheppard
I recall that this engine was found where it was last used–in an old Lausman Mill site north of the Parkertown site above Oak Grove, top of Binns Hill. Some loggers punched a temporary road in to the old site and drug the engine out to the road. All I found there afterward was some sheet metal–roof tin or something–that had been left behind and too much mud for my Jeep. For a time it was in Engle and DeHart shop for some refurbishment. Not sure, but Karl Krieg may have recreated the wooden flywheel. This would have been around 1960, I believe.