Jessie Harkins
Steamers Jessie Harkins (on left) and Ione (on right) somewhere on the Columbia or Willamette Rivers, circa 1915 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jessie Harkins (1903–1920); Pearl (1920–1958) |
| Owner | As Jessie Harkins: Harkins Trans. Co.; as Butterfly: Harry Young and A.D. Chase; as Pearl: Shaver Trans. Co. |
| Route | Lower Columbia and Willamette rivers |
| In service | 1903 |
| Out of service | 1958 |
| Identification | U.S. ## 200443 (1905–1909); 206018 (1909–1958) |
| Fate | Broken up |
| Notes | Rebuilt in 1909; original hull used to construct steamer Butterfly |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | inland passenger and light freight |
| Tonnage | 88 GT; 74 RT(1909-) |
| Length | 72 ft (21.95 m) (1903–1909); 88 ft (26.82 m) (1909–1958) |
| Beam | 13.5 ft (4.11 m) (1903–1909):15.5 ft (4.72 m)(1909–1958) |
| Depth | 5.0 ft (1.52 m) (1909–1958) depth of hold |
| Installed power | gasoline (1903–1905); steam (1905–1925); diesel (1925–1958) |
| Propulsion | propeller |
| Capacity | 90 to 100 passengers |
Jessie Harkins was a propeller-driven steamboat that operated on the Columbia River in the USA starting in 1903. It was rebuilt at least twice. Originally, Jessie Harkins was one of the larger gasoline-engined vessels to operate on the Columbia River. Jessie Harkins was built for the Harkins Transportation Company.
In 1905, Jessie Harkins was somewhat enlarged, and converted from gasoline to steam engine power.
In 1909, Jessie Harkins was again reconstructed and the components were used to build two new vessels. The cabin structure (called the "house") of the original vessel was removed, and installed on a newly built hull. This boat kept the name Jessie Harkins, but was assigned a new official merchant vessel identification number, 206018. This new boat was larger than the one built in 1903.
The old hull from the 1903 boat was sold to another company, which built a new cabin structure on the hull, and operated the boat for about six months in 1909 under the name Butterfly Butterfly somewhat confusingly kept the original merchant vessel identification number as the 1903 Jessie Harkins, which was 200443. Butterfly was once mistaken in the contemporary press as Jessie Harkins.
The numerous small craft like Jessie Harkins that operated on the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers were sometimes referred to as the "mosquito fleet".
In 1920, Harkins Transportation Co. sold Jessie Harkins to the Shaver Transportation Company, which renamed the boat Pearl. In 1925, Shaver Transportation Co. converted Pearl to diesel power. Shaver Transportation operated Pearl for a long time as a towboat, eventually dismantling it in the 1950s.