Big Bear, CA
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Searchlight – Colorado River Steamships
The Searchlight was the last sternwheel steamboat built for the lower Colorado River. It operated primarily from 1903 into the 1910s, serving the final phase of commercial steam navigation that had begun in 1852.
Construction and Specifications
The Searchlight was built in 1902 at Needles, California, by F. L. Hawley for the Colorado River Transportation Company. It was launched in December 1902; its engines were installed afterward, and it entered service on the river by March 1903.
Key recorded dimensions include:
- Length: 91 feet
- Beam: 18 feet
- Tonnage: 98 tons
- Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer (sternwheeler)
Draft details specific to the Searchlight are not precisely recorded in available summaries, but Colorado River sternwheelers were characteristically shallow-draft vessels (often drawing well under 2 feet light and only modestly more when loaded). This was essential for the river’s shifting sandbars, variable seasonal flows, and sediment-laden channels.
It later passed through ownership by the Colorado Steam Navigation Company and the U.S. Reclamation Service. Sources describe it as “lost” in October 1916; it is widely regarded as the last paddle-wheeled commercial boat to operate on the lower river.
Design Principles
Colorado River steamboats, including the Searchlight, were purpose-built for one of North America’s most difficult navigable rivers. Core design principles included:
- Sternwheel propulsion: A large paddlewheel at the stern provided better maneuverability in narrow, winding channels and over sandbars than sidewheels. It also reduced vulnerability to debris and allowed the boat to “walk” over obstacles more effectively in heavy, silty water.
- Shallow draft and relatively light construction: Flat or lightly built wooden hulls minimized draft so vessels could operate in low water and cross bars that would ground deeper-draft craft. Cargo capacity was balanced against the need to remain afloat in only a foot or two of water when lightly loaded.
- Practical freight focus: These boats prioritized utility over luxury. They carried mining equipment, supplies, ore, passengers, and towed barges. Interiors and superstructures were functional rather than ornate (in contrast to some larger Mississippi packets).
- Adaptation to local conditions: Builders accounted for strong currents, extreme temperature swings, wood or other available fuel, and the need for frequent repairs in remote locations. The Searchlight, constructed on-site at Needles rather than shipped in sections from San Francisco (common for earlier boats), reflected the mature local capability for riverboat construction by the early 1900s.
These features made the vessels effective for the lower Colorado from the Gulf of California/delta region upstream past Yuma toward Needles and mining landings, even as the river’s character changed with seasonal floods and droughts.
Role in Expanding Trade
By the late 1890s and early 1900s, the lower Colorado’s steamboat trade had shifted heavily toward supporting mining booms after railroads had already captured much of the long-haul freight. Gold discoveries in the Searchlight District (Nevada, about 14 miles west of the river, south of Eldorado Canyon) in 1897, along with related activity at Quartette Landing and other camps, created renewed demand for river transport of machinery, supplies, food, and outbound ore.
The Searchlight was built specifically to compete in this traffic. It quickly cut into the Colorado Steam Navigation Company’s (CSNC) business to Quartette Landing and Searchlight, Nevada. Operating alongside rivals such as the Cochan (CSNC’s last major sternwheeler, rebuilt from the Gila and placed in service in 1900 for the same mining trade) and the St. Vallier, it helped sustain the final commercial pulse of river steam navigation.
Steamers of this era moved the materials that allowed remote desert mining camps to operate and expand. They linked river landings to overland trails and, later, short rail spurs (such as the Barnwell and Searchlight Railway). In doing so, they supported economic development in parts of present-day Nevada, Arizona, and California where roads remained difficult and expensive.
Competition from expanding rail networks (Southern Pacific earlier, then lines reaching Parker and other points) steadily eroded profitability. By the end of 1905 the remaining steamers, including the Searchlight, were largely withdrawn downriver to the Yuma area. Smaller gasoline boats and eventually trucks took over residual local work.
End of Service and Legacy
The 1909 completion of Laguna Dam (about 14 miles above Yuma) for irrigation effectively closed the lower river to through navigation. Remaining steamers, including the Searchlight, were used for limited reclamation, bank repair, canal-related work, and occasional local freight or ferry duties. The Searchlight is recorded as the last of the commercial paddlewheel fleet, finishing service around 1916.
Its historical significance lies in marking the close of an era. From the Uncle Sam in 1852 through the peak decades of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company and into the early 20th century, sternwheelers opened and sustained trade, military supply, settlement, and mining along a river that was otherwise extremely difficult to navigate. The Searchlight—the final new sternwheeler built for the lower Colorado—embodied the practical design adaptations that made that commerce possible and helped support the last major mining boom the river boats would serve.
Primary modern references for these details include Richard E. Lingenfelter’s Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 and contemporary summaries drawn from period records and photographic collections (including images of the Searchlight at locations such as Chimney Peak, Needles, and Yuma).
Retta – Colorado River Steamship
The Retta was a small stern-wheel paddle steam launch that operated on the lower Colorado River in the early 20th century. It belonged to the final generation of commercial steam vessels on the river, during a period of declining steamboat traffic due to railroad expansion, yet still serving mining, local freight, and limited passenger needs. Steam navigation on the Colorado began in 1852 with the Uncle Sam to supply Fort Yuma and peaked under the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (CSNC, formerly George A. Johnson & Company). By 1900–1909, operations focused on residual mining traffic (e.g., Searchlight and related districts) until Laguna Dam blocked upstream navigation.
The Retta was one of the smaller craft in this late phase, operated primarily by the short-lived Mexican-Colorado Navigation Company.
Construction and Design Principles
Built in 1900 at Yuma, Arizona (by Captain Frank Friant according to detailed accounts), the Retta was an open-decked paddle-wheel steam launch approximately 36 feet long with a 6-foot beam. It featured a scalloped canopy. Exact draft, tonnage, and engine details are sparsely recorded, but it was designed as a light, maneuverable vessel rather than a heavy freighter.
Colorado River steamboats followed specific design principles dictated by the river’s extreme challenges: shallow depths (often under 2 feet in low water), shifting sandbars, strong currents, snags, abrasive silt, and seasonal floods. Key principles included:
- Shallow draft — Priority for flotation over sandbars and in low water; larger sternwheelers often drew 12–22 inches loaded.
- Stern-wheel (paddle) propulsion — Preferred over sidewheels for better maneuverability in narrow or braided channels, ability to “dig” through bars with the wheel, and reduced risk of damage in confined waters.
- Lightweight wooden construction — Flat or lightly framed hulls optimized for cargo capacity relative to draft, with reinforcement against grounding; many larger boats were built in sections in San Francisco, shipped, and reassembled at the river (e.g., Port Isabel or Yuma).
- Practical, utilitarian layout — Focus on freight/tow capacity and reliability over speed or luxury; fuel from local mesquite/cottonwood woodyards.
- Adaptability for towing — Larger vessels often towed barges to multiply capacity.
The Retta, as a compact steam launch, embodied a scaled-down version of these principles: extreme lightness and shallow operation for local upriver work in variable conditions, suited to light freight rather than bulk cargo or long tows. It was originally built for pleasure excursions before commercial use.
Ownership, Operations, and Role in Expanding Trade
The Mexican-Colorado Navigation Company (formed ~1901 in Los Angeles by Alphonso B. Smith with Chicago investors W. S. Twogood and E. E. Busby) acquired the Retta (sources note purchase around July or December 1901) as part of its fleet, which also included the larger sternwheeler St. Vallier (acquired late 1901) and the screw steamer San Jorge. The company aimed to revive river traffic for mining, ranching, and irrigation support, operating from Yuma and competing with the CSNC on routes to Needles and intermediate points, plus limited Gulf of California service.
The Retta handled light freight on upriver runs to landings such as Ehrenberg and Picacho. By fall 1901 it carried items including railroad rails and saw “brisk business.” In early 1905 it was sold to F. C. Robie and William Hutt of Needles, who overhauled it for freighting between Mellen (near Topock) and the Bill Williams Fork mining settlements.
Its role in expanding (or sustaining) trade was modest and localized compared to the big CSNC sternwheelers (Gila, Mohave II, Cochan, etc.) that had earlier enabled major mining booms, military supply, and settlement by linking Pacific ports to interior Arizona, Nevada, and Mexican territories via the river mouth. In the post-railroad era, the Retta and similar small craft filled gaps for short-haul mining supplies, ore, and materials where rail did not yet fully penetrate, supporting residual economic activity along the lower river and its tributaries until dams and further rail closed the era. Overall Colorado River steamboating had already shifted from primary artery of regional development (1850s–1870s) to supplementary service.
Fate
In February 1905 the Retta struck a submerged log (or rock in some accounts) and sank. Its commercial career lasted only about five years.
Legacy
The Retta represents the tail end of Colorado River steam navigation—a practical, small-scale vessel adapted to the river’s demanding conditions during the industry’s decline. Larger boats had transformed Southwest logistics; vessels like the Retta extended limited utility for mining trade a few years longer. Primary sources for this history include Richard E. Lingenfelter’s Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 (University of Arizona Press, 1978), the standard reference documenting the fleet, companies, and operations.
Major Powell – Colorado River Steamship
The Major Powell was a small experimental twin-screw steam launch built and launched in 1891 at Green River, Utah, on the Green River. It was named for Major John Wesley Powell, the one-armed Civil War veteran and explorer who led the first scientific boat expeditions down the Green and Colorado Rivers in 1869 and 1871–72.
It was owned and operated by the Green Grand & Colorado River Navigation Company (headed by B. S. Ross). The company’s goal was to establish excursion steamers carrying tourists from the Denver & Rio Grande railroad at Green River, Utah, down the Green River to its confluence with the Colorado (then often still called the Grand) and a short distance into Cataract Canyon, with plans for a hotel near the head of the cataracts.
Build and Design Principles
The vessel measured about 35 feet in length, 8 feet in beam (some accounts note 8–10 feet), with a draft of roughly 26 inches and a capacity of about 3 tons. It featured an open deck covered by a canvas canopy. Propulsion came from two 6-horsepower coal-fired steam engines, each driving one of a pair of twin screws (propellers).
Design priorities reflected the harsh realities of the upper Green and Colorado Rivers in the canyon country:
- Shallow draft to handle low water, sandbars, and rocky channels.
- Twin-screw propulsion for better maneuverability in narrow, winding canyons and against variable currents, rather than traditional paddlewheels (more common on the lower Colorado).
- Compact size and light construction suitable for assembly after rail shipment and operation in remote, undeveloped terrain.
- Open-deck simplicity for excursion passengers rather than heavy freight capacity.
- Protective adaptations after early problems: iron guards were added to the screws after rocks damaged the propellers on the first trial run in fast, shallow water. The boiler was later converted from coal to wood (local cottonwood) because coal was scarce and heavy to transport in the canyons.
These choices made it a practical prototype for testing commercial steam navigation in an environment far more challenging than the lower Colorado River (where larger sternwheelers had operated for decades hauling freight and passengers between the Gulf of California and points upstream toward present-day Lake Mead). The Major Powell was underpowered for strong upstream currents and required constant attention to fuel and channel conditions.
Operational History
Launched in August 1891, the boat’s first trial was unsuccessful due to propeller damage. After the iron guards were fitted, its first successful voyage began around April 15, 1892, under the command of local rancher Arthur Wheeler (with a small crew). It descended the Green River through Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons to the confluence and a short distance down the Colorado to the first cataract at the head of Cataract Canyon. Returning upstream proved difficult: the underpowered engines struggled against the current, coal ran low, and the boat was tied up at Wheeler’s ranch (about 22 miles below Green River). The crew walked overland to announce the success in town on July 3, 1892.
A second voyage followed after the conversion to wood fuel. The round-trip river time between the ranch and the first cataract was only about four days, but the full expedition took roughly a month because of the labor of cutting and loading cottonwood. Later accounts also describe additional trial or excursion efforts into 1893.
Despite these limited successes, the boat was dismantled in 1894 for its machinery (reportedly used in a wrecking plant at Green River). The hull was left behind and washed away in a subsequent flood.
Role in Expanding Trade Along the Colorado River
The Major Powell played only a minor and ultimately unsuccessful role in commercial development. Its purpose was primarily tourism and excursion traffic rather than freight or bulk trade. The company hoped to open a scenic passenger route linked to the railroad, but the combination of underpowered engines, fuel logistics, shifting channels, sandbars, and the formidable cataracts prevented sustained commercial service.
On the broader Colorado River system, steam navigation had already been established decades earlier on the lower river (from the mouth near the Gulf of California upstream past Yuma and toward the Mohave region). There, larger shallow-draft sternwheelers carried significant freight (supplies, mining equipment, goods) and passengers, supporting settlement, mining, and military posts until railroads largely displaced them. The upper Green and Colorado canyons remained far more difficult; the Major Powell was among the earliest (and essentially experimental) attempts to apply steam power there. It demonstrated that limited powered travel was possible under favorable conditions but did not lead to a viable trade route or fleet of excursion steamers. Subsequent upper-river boats in the early 20th century (such as the Undine, Cliff Dweller, and others) similarly struggled and left no lasting commercial impact before railroads, roads, and later dams transformed the region.
In short, the Major Powell stands as a short-lived technological and promotional experiment—an ambitious but underpowered effort to commercialize the scenic upper canyons that John Wesley Powell had first explored by rowboat a generation earlier. It highlighted both the possibilities and the severe practical limits of steam navigation on those waters.
Wolf Hole – Mohave County Ghost Town
Wolf Hole, Arizona is a ghost town in the remote Arizona Strip region of Mohave County, northwestern Arizona. It sits on the Uinkaret Plateau (near Wolf Hole Mountain) at approximately 36°45′46″N 113°32′58″W, at an elevation of about 5,043 feet (1,537 m). The site lies roughly 25–33 miles south of St. George, Utah, in a sparsely populated area of plateaus, canyons, and limited water sources north of the Grand Canyon.
Today it consists mainly of foundations, a derelict (often described as adobe) house, and remnants of fencing or corrals. Access is via graded dirt roads (generally suitable for 2WD vehicles in good weather), and the surrounding landscape includes areas near the Mount Trumbull Wilderness.
Naming and Early Exploration
The name “Wolf Hole” stems from a mistranslation by Major John Wesley Powell during his Colorado River and Arizona Strip explorations in the late 1860s–1870s. Powell and his party applied the name to a local spring and water hole; the Paiute (Pah-Ute) term was reportedly something like Shinabitz-spitz or a reference to “Coyote Spring.” Explorers conflated the animal name, and “Wolf Hole” stuck on maps and in records.
The spring was a critical water source in an arid landscape, supporting Indigenous use and later Euro-American ranching. Powell’s broader mapping and ethnographic work helped open the region to further exploration and settlement.
Ranching History and Settlement
The Arizona Strip’s harsh conditions—limited water, droughts, isolation, and rugged terrain—delayed permanent settlement. Early livestock activity intensified in the late 19th century amid the broader Western cattle boom. By the 1890s, prominent cattleman Preston Nutter expanded operations across the Arizona Strip (and into Utah and Colorado). Around 1897 he acquired rights around Wolf Hole (including purchase of a spring claim for a modest sum) as part of consolidating water sources and range rights on the Shivwits Plateau and nearby areas such as Grand Wash and Mount Trumbull. Nutter became one of the dominant figures controlling springs and grazing lands in the western Strip.
Smaller ranchers and homesteaders also operated in the vicinity, practicing open-range cattle and some sheep raising, with limited farming where water allowed. Droughts (including severe ones in the early 1890s and later periods) repeatedly stressed operations. The 1916 Stock-Raising Homestead Act and related land policies encouraged further small-scale claims, but the environment limited long-term success.
The Community and Post Office Era (1918–1927)
Wolf Hole formalized as a small ranching and farming outpost in 1918 with the opening of a U.S. post office (sources note establishment around July 3, 1918; some variation exists for exact start/end years, commonly cited as 1918–1927). Dexter Parker served as postmaster and operated the facility from his ranch, which also functioned in part as a general store, gas station, and stop for travelers. The post office linked isolated ranchers and homesteaders to the outside world (often via routes to St. George, Utah), handling mail, supplies, and sometimes dairy products from local operations.
The settlement remained minimal—likely fewer than a dozen households clustered near the spring and rudimentary ranch buildings. It never developed into a substantial town with commercial or mining focus (unlike many Mohave County boom towns driven by minerals). Daily life centered on livestock, water management, and coping with isolation, extreme weather, and scarce resources.
Decline and Abandonment
The post office closed in 1927, marking the effective end of the formal community. Factors included the region’s inherent challenges (chronic water scarcity, drought, limited economic viability for small operators), consolidation of ranching under larger outfits, and broader shifts in Western land use and transportation. Residents dispersed to more accessible areas. By the mid-20th century the site was largely abandoned, with structures deteriorating into the sparse remains visible today.
Cultural Notes and Legacy
American author and environmentalist Edward Abbey (1927–1989), known for Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Gang, sometimes claimed Wolf Hole as a residence or used it as a mailing address/byline. This was largely symbolic or aspirational, reflecting his affinity for remote Southwest wilderness; he did not maintain permanent residence there (accounts describe it as “camouflage” enhancing his desert hermit persona). Visitors seeking him in the 1970s found little or nothing at the site.
Wolf Hole exemplifies the ephemeral nature of many Arizona Strip outposts: water-dependent ranching communities that briefly served isolated settlers before fading. It contrasts with Mohave County’s earlier mining boom towns and stands as a quiet remnant of frontier adaptation to one of Arizona’s most remote landscapes. Nearby features include Wolf Hole Mountain and ongoing land management activities (e.g., Bureau of Land Management projects related to fuels reduction and habitat in the broader Wolfhole area).
Sources for this report draw primarily from historical summaries, ghost town documentation, USGS geographic data, ranching histories of the Arizona Strip (including Nutter’s operations), and contemporary accounts of the site and its cultural associations. Primary records on such remote places are limited, and some details (exact post office dates, precise population) vary slightly across sources.
Thomas Leiper Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883) was an American lawyer, abolitionist, philanthropist, and Union Army officer best known as a lifelong non-Mormon friend, advocate, and mediator for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called Mormons). He was not a Mormon convert or a Utah settler; he remained outside the faith while providing crucial political, diplomatic, and public-relations support during key crises in the church’s history. Kane County, Utah, and the early Iowa settlement of Kanesville (near present-day Council Bluffs) were named in his honor.
Early Life and Background
Kane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second son of John Kintzing Kane (a prominent federal judge and politician) and Jane Duval Leiper Kane. He came from a well-connected family of Irish and Scottish descent. After education in Philadelphia and some study in England, he read law under his father and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1846. He briefly served as a clerk in his father’s court but resigned around 1850 over moral opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act. He was active in reform causes, including abolition (with involvement in the Underground Railroad), opposition to capital punishment, prison reform, women’s rights, and educational initiatives.
Introduction to the Latter-day Saints (1846)
Kane first encountered the Saints in May 1846 in Philadelphia, where he attended a conference organized by Jesse C. Little, the church’s eastern representative. Learning of the forced expulsion of the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois, and their difficult westward migration, Kane used his family’s political connections to help. He met with President James K. Polk and other officials, helping arrange the enlistment of the Mormon Battalion (about 500 volunteers) for the Mexican-American War. The battalion’s pay provided vital funds for the impoverished refugees.
Kane traveled west to the Mormon camps along the Missouri River in Iowa Territory. He assisted with recruitment, visited scattered settlements, and publicly defended the Saints against hostile reports. Impressed by their loyalty and suffering, he became a committed advocate. In recognition, the Saints renamed one of their Iowa settlements Kane (later Kanesville). In September 1846, Patriarch John Smith gave Kane a patriarchal blessing that he valued highly throughout his life.
Advocacy and the Utah War
Throughout the 1850s Kane worked to improve the public image of the Saints and secure favorable federal treatment. In 1850 he delivered an influential lecture, The Mormons, before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, describing their history and the desolation of abandoned Nauvoo. His influence helped secure Brigham Young’s appointment as the first governor of Utah Territory under President Millard Fillmore. Kane declined an offer to serve as territorial governor himself, preferring that Young hold the post. He also supported efforts toward Utah statehood.
His most famous service came during the Utah War (1857–1858). Amid exaggerated reports of Mormon rebellion, President James Buchanan ordered a large U.S. Army force (Johnston’s Army) to Utah. Kane volunteered as an unofficial mediator, traveling under the alias “Dr. Osborne” via a long southern route (through Panama and California) to reach Salt Lake City in early 1858. He negotiated with Brigham Young and the new federally appointed governor, Alfred Cumming, helping persuade Young to accept Cumming and avoid armed resistance. The peaceful resolution averted bloodshed and is often credited in large part to Kane’s diplomacy.
Civil War Service and Later Life
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Kane organized and led the 1st Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment (the “Bucktails”), a noted sharpshooter unit. He rose to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers and received a brevet promotion to major general for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg (1863). Wounds and illness forced his resignation. After the war he settled in northwestern Pennsylvania, where he helped found the town of Kane and engaged in land development, railroads, oil, and civic affairs. He continued corresponding with Brigham Young and other church leaders, offering counsel on political and legal matters.
In the winter of 1872–1873, in poor health, Kane, his wife Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood Kane, and two of their sons visited Utah at Brigham Young’s invitation. They traveled with Young to St. George in southern Utah, where the milder climate improved Kane’s health. Elizabeth later published Twelve Mormon Homes (1874), a valuable firsthand account of Mormon domestic life. Kane returned briefly to Utah in 1877 after Young’s death.
Personal Life and Death
Kane married Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood in 1853; they had several children. Though raised in a Presbyterian family, he did not formally join any church. He remained a steadfast friend of the Saints until the end. He died of pneumonia in Philadelphia on December 26, 1883 (some sources list the 27th), after caring for an injured son. Among his last concerns were messages of affection for his “Mormon friends.”
Legacy
Kane is remembered in Mormon history as one of the most important non-member allies of the 19th century—an “outrider for Zion.” His mediation during the Utah War, defense of religious liberty, and long friendship with Brigham Young left a lasting mark. A statue of him stands in the Utah State Capitol, and the LDS Church maintains a memorial chapel in Kane, Pennsylvania. His papers and correspondence remain important sources for historians of the American West and the Latter-day Saint movement.