Clinton (steam ferry)

Clinton was the first steam ferry built in California and used on San Francisco Bay in 1853.

History
Name: Clinton
Operator:
Route: Creek Route
Builder: Domingo Marcucci
Completed: 1853
Fate: Sank after collision in 1877
General characteristics
Type: Ferry
Tonnage: 194 GRT
Length: 120 ft (37 m)
Beam: 24 ft (7.3 m)
Depth: 7 ft (2.1 m)
Installed power: 125 hp (93 kW) low-pressure engine
Propulsion: Two sidewheels

History

Clinton was built by Domingo Marcucci in early 1853, for Charles Minturn of the Conta Costa Steam Navigation Company. She was a 194-ton, side-wheel steamer, with a walking beam and powered by a 125-horsepower (93 kW), low-pressure engine. The vessel was 120 feet (37 m) long, with a 24-foot (7.3 m) beam and a hull 7 feet (2.1 m) deep. She was launched 60 days from the day her keel was laid.[1]

She ran on the Creek Route between San Francisco and the eastern shore until 1865 when Minturn sold out his interest in the Creek Route to the railroad. In 1866 he moved the remains of his fleet to operate between San Francisco and Marin and Sonoma Counties.[2]:127–128,131,146

In 1874 Clinton was purchased by the San Rafael & San Quentin Railroad and put on the run to San Rafael.[2]:131 Clinton ended her career in 1877, sinking after a collision with another ship.[3]:139

References
  1. Scott, Erving M. and Others, Evolution of Shipping and Ship-Building in California, Part I, Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, Volume 25, January 1895, pp.5-16; from quod.lib.umich.edu accessed March 10, 2015
  2. Jerry MacMullen, Paddlewheel Days In California, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1970.
  3. Dickson, A. Bray (1974). Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods. Trans-Anglo Books.
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