John Ainsworth’s house in Oregon City. Built in 1851, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. SEA HISTORY 179, SUMMER 2022
oregon public library
The Lot Whitcomb at her home port of Milwaukie, Oregon. Her launch in the winter of 1851 was a well-attended, all-day celebration featuring speeches, military band performances, feasts, and a formal ball. During the economic recession of 1854, the Whitcomb was sold to California interests for service on the Sacramento River. Ainsworth was aboard when she was towed down the coast to San Francisco. Local newspapers followed the Whitcomb closely, reporting her speed, excursions, towing jobs, and mishaps. The Whitcomb was said to have made the upriver trip from Astoria to Portland in less than ten hours, a fraction of the time it took any other Columbia River vessel—sail or steam—to travel the same route. Those who took personal risks to finance the project were richly rewarded. In just four years of operation, the Whitcomb produced sizable returns on her owners’
investments, notably Ainsworth who, just one year after the Whitcomb was launched, enjoyed enough expendable income to construct one of the finest antebellum residences in Oregon City. After selling the Whitcomb in 1854, Ainsworth and Kamm convened again for another project. Based on the challenges they encountered in the rough water below Oregon City, Ainsworth and Kamm concluded that the sidewheel design was not ideal for the Willamette River’s boulder-
photo by ian poellet, via wikipedia
on rivers back east: fitted with a passenger cabin, twin smokestacks, and sidewheels. The design, though a common sight on eastern rivers, did not exist in the remote Northwest. In exchange for their help in designing his steamboat, managing its construction, and operating it after launch, Whitcomb promised Ainsworth and Kamm competitive monthly salaries and part ownership in the vessel. Ainsworth and Kamm accepted Whitcomb’s offer and, after only two months in California, sailed again for a new home base. When they landed in Oregon City, they found a very different environment than what they had become accustomed to in California. The sparsely-populated and remote settlements lining the Willamette River offered few resources for shipbuilders. Ainsworth and Kamm ordered an engine and boiler from an East Coast firm and worked with a local foundry to produce the tools needed to assemble the machinery when it arrived. To pay for the orders and fund the acquisition of other materials and wages for laborers, Whitcomb and Ainsworth scoured their business networks to drum up investors. Meanwhile, to offset costs, Whitcomb mortgaged his entire estate and Ainsworth deferred his salary, accruing over $2,000 in back-pay. Eventually, even the laborers were asked to make sacrifices, including accepting produce from local farmers in lieu of cash wages. When launched, the finished steamboat was the most impressive man-made structure yet seen in the Oregon territory. Named after her principal owner, the 160foot Lot Whitcomb presented gracefully on the water with a shallow-draft hull, flanked with twin enclosed sidewheels, and a brilliantly painted deckhouse. Forward on the hurricane deck, Ainsworth and Kamm paid homage to their Mississippi River days by installing two towering smokestacks. From the day the Whitcomb was launched, she and Captain Ainsworth became instant legends in the region. Speeches were delivered and poems were written about the steamboat and its commander.
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