Orient was a light-draft sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1875 for the Willamette River Transportation Company, a concern owned by pioneer businessman Ben Holladay. Shortly after its completion, it was acquired by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. Orient was a near-twin vessel of a steamer built at the same time, the Occident.
Orient served until 1892 on the Willamette and Yamhill rivers, after which it was sold for a small amount to a new owner who thought the steamer could be put to some use. Orient was operated until 1894, and had tendency to sink during its last years in service.
In April 1893, Orient sank after a collision with a bridge in Portland, Oregon in 1893, sank again on the Cowlitz River in March 1894, and then in September 1894 was completely destroyed by fire while efforts were being made to return Orient to service.
Construction
Orient was designed to have a shallow draft so that it could operate during low water seasons on the upper Willamette River. Orient was built at the same time as the similar Occident.
Both vessels were built in 1875. John J. Holland, chief builder for O.S.N., supervised construction of Orient. Orient and Occident were known as the “Willamette Twins.”
They were considered first class western steamboats at the time they were built.
Dimensions
Orient and Occident were both long measured over the hull, exclusive of the extension of the main deck over the stern, called the “fantail” on which the stern-wheel was mounted. Both vessels had a beam of exclusive of the long protective timbers along the upper portion of the hull called the guards, and a depth of hold of .
Orient could carry about 600 tons of freight. According to a newspaper report from the time they were built, “their great length and breadth of beam will enable them to toat gobs of freight.”
Orient's gross tonnage (a measure of size and not weight) was 586.95 in 1878. The registered tonnage was 429.76 in 1889. The official merchant vessel registry number was 19449.
Machinery
Orient was driven by a stern-wheel which was turned by two horizontally mounted single-cylinder steam engines, each with a bore of and stroke of . The engines had come from the upper Columbia river steamer Spray, which had been built in 1862. The boilers were wood-fired, and it was necessary for the steamer to stop at wood depots along its route to “wood up”.
Wooding up could be dangerous, as the wood was split into large baulks and generally had to be carried up a narrow gangplank on to the steamer. Loss of life could occur if a crew man fell into the river while wooding up. In an accident in early October 1878, most of the crew of Orient were thrown into the water while wooding up when a wharf depot gave way. No one was drowned, but one crewman sustained injuries from being struck by a large piece of wood.
Early career
Orient made its trial trip on August 10, 1875. In November 1875 Orient, under Captain Lucien E. Pratt, took the place of E.N. Cooke on the run between Portland and Oregon City. E.N. Cooke was then owned by the Oregon Steamship Company, in which pioneer businessman Ben Holladay held the controlling interest.
Cooke was to take Ben Holladay on a pleasure excursion to the Skipanon River in Clatsop County, after which the Cooke would be taken out of service for repairs. With no other boat to replace the Cooke, the Holladay concern requested that O.S.N. place the new steamer Orient on the route temporarily.
New ownership
At the end of December 1875, Oregon Steam Navigation Co. set up a new corporate subsidiary, the Willamette River Transportation & Locks Company, and transferred substantial assets, including the Orient, to the new corporation.
Willamette Transportation & Locks Co. was incorporated in late December 1875 with a capital stock of $1,000,000 in shares of $100. The new company was organized to do business on the Willamette River and its tributaries and the lower Columbia River. The directors were all prominent business and steamboatmen: Capt. John C. Ainsworth, Robert R.Thompson, Capt. Theodore Wygant, Bernard “Barnie” Goldsmith and Capt. Frank T. Dodge.
Willamette Transportation & Locks Co.owned the Willamette Falls Locks, then recently completed, the farmer's warehouse at Astoria, Oregon, part of the Astoria waterfront, a number of barges, as well as the steamboats Willamette Chief, Gov. Grover, Champion, Beaver, Annie Stewart and Orient. According to the Albany Register, a critic of the new company:
Orient ran for Willamette Transportation & Locks Co. until 1879, when it came back into the direct control of Oregon Steam Navigation Co.