Tag: Nevada

The Colorado II was a stern-wheel paddle steamer (sternwheeler) that operated on the Colorado River from 1862 until it was dismantled in 1882. It was the second vessel of that name and the fifth steamboat overall on the lower Colorado River. It played a key role in freight and passenger transport supporting military posts, mining, and settlement in the desert Southwest during the peak of river steamboating.

Background and Construction

Steamboat service on the Colorado River began in the early 1850s to supply Fort Yuma (near present-day Yuma, Arizona) and other points upriver, as overland transport across the desert was difficult and expensive. George A. Johnson & Company dominated the trade. The original Colorado (often called Colorado I), launched in late 1855, was a 120-foot sternwheeler that could carry about 60–70 tons on a shallow draft of under two feet. It used an 80-horsepower engine and was captained at times by Isaac Polhamus (later known as the “Dean of the Colorado River”).

By 1862 the original Colorado was worn out. Its hull was dismantled in April 1862 at Arizona City (Yuma). The engine and boiler were removed and reused. Shipbuilder John G. North (a well-known California steamboat builder) constructed a new, larger hull in San Francisco. The parts were shipped to the Colorado River and assembled/launched at Arizona City under the guns of Fort Yuma, due to fears of Confederate raiders during the Civil War. The new vessel—Colorado II—entered service around December 1862 (some sources note May or later in the year for full operations).

Specifications

• Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer (sternwheeler)
• Tonnage: 179 tons
• Length: 145 feet
• Beam (width): 29 feet
• Draft: Approximately 16 inches (very shallow, suited to the river’s sandbars and variable water levels)
• Engine: 80 hp steam engine reused from Colorado I
• Cargo capacity: Around 70 tons (some accounts note higher freight capacity in practice; one source cites capacity for 179 tons of freight, aligning with displacement)
• Builder: John G. North (hull); machinery from the prior vessel
• Owners: George A. Johnson & Company, later the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (C.S.N.Co., reorganized 1869)

These shallow-draft design features were essential for navigating the lower Colorado’s shifting channels, sandbars, and seasonal low water.

Role on the Colorado River

Colorado II operated primarily on the lower Colorado River, from the river mouth/delta area (near Port Isabel, Sonora, Mexico, on the Gulf of California) northward past Arizona City/Yuma, to landings serving mining districts, military posts (including Fort Mohave), and settlements in present-day Arizona, California, and Nevada. It carried freight (supplies, mining machinery, ore, wool, agricultural goods), passengers, and often towed barges to increase capacity.

It was part of Johnson’s fleet that held a near-monopoly after absorbing rivals in the 1860s. Key captains included Stephen Thorne. The vessel worked alongside others such as the Cocopah (I and later II), Mohave, Nina Tilden, and barges. Woodyards (often staffed by local Cocopah people) supplied fuel along the route. Trips supported the growth of mining (e.g., in areas like Eldorado Canyon) and military logistics. By the late 1860s–1870s the company (reorganized as C.S.N.Co.) ran multiple steamers and handled thousands of tons of freight and hundreds of passengers annually. Colorado II is documented in period photos, including at Fort Yuma landings and in a tidal dry dock at Port Isabel.

Competition from rival lines (e.g., in the mid-1860s) was short-lived. The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Yuma in 1877 (with a bridge soon after) sharply reduced the need for long-haul river transport, as rail took over east-west traffic. The steamboat company was sold to Southern Pacific interests. Remaining boats, including Colorado II, continued for a time on residual upper-river and local service.

Ultimate Fate

Colorado II remained in service until 1882, when it was dismantled (sources consistently list 1882; some note August). This was typical for aging Colorado River steamboats once machinery wore out or traffic declined—hulls were often broken up, and usable parts reused or the vessels beached. It outlasted several contemporaries (e.g., Cocopah II was dismantled around 1881). The broader steamboat era on the lower Colorado effectively ended with the construction of Laguna Dam (completed around 1909), which blocked navigation, though limited operations continued a few years longer with smaller vessels.

Colorado II exemplifies the practical, shallow-draft sternwheelers that opened the desert Southwest to reliable waterborne commerce for roughly three decades before railroads and dams rendered them obsolete. Primary details come from historical compilations of Colorado River steamboats, including Wikipedia summaries drawing on period accounts and works such as those referencing MacMullen’s Paddle-Wheel Days in California.

Mohave II (also referred to as Mohave) was a stern-wheel steamboat and the largest vessel ever to operate on the Colorado River. It was the first and only double-smokestack (twin-stack) steamboat on the river, giving it a distinctive silhouette that resembled the larger, more ornate Mississippi River packets in outward appearance, though its interior was utilitarian and geared toward practical freight and passenger work rather than luxury.

Physical Description and Design

Built by San Francisco shipbuilder Patrick Henry Tiernan (the same builder of the earlier Gila), the Mohave II was constructed in sections in San Francisco, disassembled, shipped to the Colorado River Delta, and reassembled at the shipyard in Port Isabel, Sonora, Mexico (at the mouth of the Colorado River). It was launched in May 1876.

Key specifications included:

• Displacement/tonnage: 188 tons.
• Length: 149.5 feet.
• Beam (width): 31.5 feet.
• Draft: Approximately 1 foot (12 inches) of water—shallower than the Gila by about half a foot—which allowed it to navigate farther into shallow sloughs, sandbars, and low-water conditions than most other boats on the river.
• Hull depth: Roughly 3–3.1 feet.
• Propulsion: Stern-wheel paddle design, optimized for the Colorado’s shallow, shifting, sandbar-filled waters and strong currents.
• Distinctive features: Twin smokestacks (the only such configuration on the river), contributing to its “palatial” or “magnificent” advertising image for excursions.

Despite its imposing external look, it was primarily a working vessel designed to tow barges and carry substantial cargo while also accommodating passengers for both commercial and recreational trips. Its shallow draft made it especially versatile for the challenging lower Colorado River environment.

History of Usage

The Mohave II was built by the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (C.S.N.C., formerly George A. Johnson & Company) specifically to replace the worn-out Mohave I (a 1864 stern-wheeler that had been dismantled in 1875 at Port Isabel, with its machinery later reused elsewhere). It entered service in 1876 and operated for about a quarter-century until around 1900.

It served as a key freight, passenger, and towboat during the peak and gradual decline of Colorado River steamboating. Primary roles included:

• Hauling ore, mining machinery, supplies, wool, and other goods to support mining booms (including later gold discoveries in areas like the Searchlight and Goldroad districts) and agricultural trade in the American Southwest.
• Transporting troops, merchants, settlers, and tourists.
• Towing barges (sometimes multiple) for heavier loads.
• Supporting railroad construction, notably assisting with the wooden railroad bridge at Needles in the early 1880s by towing barges equipped with pile drivers.
• Special excursion and pleasure trips, including Sunday school outings (famously photographed at Yuma in 1876), May Day and Fourth of July picnics, trips to islands or points of interest, and even longer voyages into the Gulf of California (one noted 10-day pleasure trip in 1895 under Captain Jack Mellon).

Notable captains and operators associated with it included Isaac Polhamus (and family members), Joseph H. Godfrey (nephew of Polhamus, who took it to its farthest recorded point), and John Alexander “Jack” Mellon. Under Godfrey in 1881, it reached Rioville (at the mouth of the Virgin River in Nevada), the practical highest point of steam navigation on the lower Colorado during high water—extending roughly 450–600 miles upstream depending on conditions and measurement from the mouth or Yuma.

The boat helped sustain the C.S.N.C.’s dominance on the river even as railroads began encroaching in the late 1870s–1880s (the company was eventually linked to or sold interests involving the Southern Pacific). Business fluctuated with mining activity; a late-1890s revival kept the Mohave II and Gila busy enough that a new barge (Enterprise) was needed. By the late 1890s, however, rail competition and aging vessels reduced operations. In early 1900, as the company shifted resources (reusing the Gila’s engine for the new Cochan to serve Searchlight mines), the Mohave II was stripped of its machinery, run into Jaeger’s Slough near Yuma, and left to decay (dismantled around January 1900). Broader Colorado River steamboating effectively ended with the completion of Laguna Dam (about 14 miles above Yuma) in 1909, which blocked upstream navigation.

Ports of Call and Routes

The Mohave II operated primarily on the lower Colorado River, with Yuma (Arizona Territory/Arizona; formerly Arizona City, near Fort Yuma) as the principal hub and supply center after the railroad reached it. Standard commercial runs covered roughly 450 miles or more upstream during suitable water levels, connecting the Gulf of California/delta region to upriver mining, military, and settlement points. Wood yards and landings along the route supplied fuel (often cut by local Cocopah and other Indigenous workers).

Key ports of call and landings associated with its service and the broader C.S.N.C. fleet (which it shared routes with) included, from downstream to upstream (approximate historical distances and activity periods where noted):

• Delta/estuary area (Sonora and Baja California, Mexico): Port Isabel (shipyard and major anchorage/port until the late 1870s), Robinson’s Landing, Port Famine, Lerdo Landing, Gridiron, Ogden’s Landing, and others for cargo transfer from ocean vessels (to minimize Mexican customs issues) and wood.
• Lower river near Yuma: Jaeger City/Colorado City area, Fort Yuma/Yuma (core hub for passengers, freight, military supply, and excursions).
• Mid-river Arizona/California points: Castle Dome Landing, Picacho, Ehrenberg (important mining/freight transfer), La Paz area, Parker’s Landing/Camp Colorado, Liverpool Landing, and others serving ranches, mines, and ferries.
• Upper mid-river: Needles (California; grew in importance with the railroad and bridge construction in the 1880s, where Mohave II assisted), Fort Mohave (Arizona Territory; major military post and regular stop), Hardyville (Arizona Territory; practical head of navigation at low water, near present-day Bullhead City area; key ferry and freight point), El Dorado Canyon (Nevada; silver mining support), and Mohave City.
• Farthest reaches (high water): Rioville (Nevada, mouth of the Virgin River; reached in 1881), with occasional service toward Callville or related Mormon supply points earlier in the steamboat era.

Routes typically ran between the Gulf/delta or Yuma and Hardyville/Fort Mohave as the practical limit under normal conditions, with extensions farther north in high water. Downstream trips were much faster than upstream ones due to the current. The boat also made special recreational runs from Yuma or Needles to nearby points of interest or into the Gulf.

Overall, the Mohave II exemplified the height of Colorado River steamboating technology and commerce in the late 19th century—bridging the pre-railroad era of isolated desert Southwest settlement, mining, and military supply with the transition to rail dominance—while providing both essential transport and occasional community recreation on one of the West’s most difficult rivers.

The Colorado I (also known simply as the Colorado) was a stern-wheel paddle steamer—the third steamboat overall on the Colorado River and the first sternwheeler to operate there. It played a key early role in commercial navigation on the lower Colorado, helping supply military posts, support settlement and mining, and prove the viability of sternwheelers for the river’s shallow, shifting, sandbar-choked waters.

Construction and Launch

George A. Johnson & Company (the dominant early operator on the river) commissioned the vessel. It was built in San Francisco by the noted California steamboat builder John G. North, then disassembled, shipped by sea in sections to the Colorado River estuary (in Mexican territory at the river’s mouth on the Gulf of California), reassembled, and launched in December 1855.

Captain Isaac Polhamus Jr. (who would become one of the most experienced pilots on the river and later command several other vessels in the fleet) took command.

Specifications

• Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer (wooden hull).
• Length: Approximately 120 feet.
• Engine: 80-horsepower steam engine.
• Cargo capacity: Up to about 60–70 tons of freight (sources vary slightly; some list ~60 tons, others up to 70).
• Draft: Less than 2 feet when loaded (ideal for the Colorado’s shallow conditions and frequent sandbars).
• Other details such as exact beam are sparsely recorded in surviving accounts, but as a sternwheeler it was narrower and better suited than sidewheelers for navigating the river’s narrower channels and sloughs.

Compared with Johnson’s earlier sidewheeler General Jesup (launched 1854, ~104 feet, 50 hp, ~50-ton capacity), the Colorado I was more powerful, carried larger loads, and handled the strong currents and obstacles more effectively. Sternwheel design also allowed techniques such as reversing the wheel to help free the hull from sandbars.

Role on the Colorado River

Steamboats on the lower Colorado (from the Gulf of California upstream toward the Virgin River area) began in 1852 primarily to supply the isolated U.S. Army post at Fort Yuma more cheaply than overland freight. Early sidewheelers like the Uncle Sam (1852) and General Jesup proved the concept, but shifting sandbars, low water, strong currents, and tidal bores in the delta made the work difficult and hazardous.

The Colorado I improved efficiency on the core run between the estuary (where ocean vessels transferred cargo, often midstream to avoid Mexican customs) and Fort Yuma. It made faster upstream trips with larger cargoes. It also towed barges at times, further increasing payload.

Beyond routine freight (supplies, goods for settlers and mines), it supported military operations. During the 1858–59 Mohave War and the establishment of Fort Mohave, the Colorado I and General Jesup carried troops and supplies upriver under contract (reportedly at $500 per day). It contributed to the broader expansion of river commerce that later served mining booms (including areas like Eldorado Canyon) and settlement in what became Arizona, California, Nevada, and adjacent Mexican territory.

Johnson’s company held a near-monopoly for years; the Colorado I was an important part of the early fleet that generated substantial profits before competition and, later, railroads arrived. Navigation remained adventurous—pilots frequently dealt with grounding, low water, and the need for wood fuel from riverside yards often staffed by local Indigenous people (including Cocopah).

Ultimate Fate

After roughly six years of hard service (frequent groundings, wear from sandbars, and the river’s harsh conditions), the hull of the Colorado I was worn out. It was dismantled in spring 1862 (sources commonly cite April 1862; some secondary accounts mention August) at or near Fort Yuma / Arizona City.

Its engine and boiler were salvaged and installed in the larger successor vessel Colorado II (launched 1862 at Arizona City under the protection of Fort Yuma’s guns, partly out of concern over possible Confederate threats during the Civil War). The Colorado II (about 145 feet, 179 tons, same 80 hp engine) continued in service until it was itself dismantled in 1882.

The Colorado I thus marked an important transition: the shift to sternwheelers better adapted to the Colorado, the growth of Johnson’s profitable river trade, and the reuse of machinery that extended the company’s operations. Commercial steamboating on the lower Colorado continued for decades (peaking and then declining with the arrival of railroads in the late 1870s and the eventual blocking of the channel by Laguna Dam around 1909), but the Colorado I was a foundational vessel in that era.

The Cocopah I (often simply called Cocopah) was a stern-wheel paddle steamer and the fifth steamboat to operate on the Colorado River. It was launched in August 1859 and served until 1867.

Construction and Specifications

Built in 1859 in San Francisco for George A. Johnson & Company at a cost of $35,000 (roughly equivalent to over $1 million today), it was the largest steamboat yet placed on the river. Key specifications include:

• Length: 140 feet
• Beam (width): 29 feet
• Draft: Approximately 14.5–19 inches even when fully loaded (sources vary slightly; commonly cited as a mere 19 inches with full cargo)
• Cargo capacity: Up to about 60–100 tons (it could also tow barges carrying additional tonnage)
• Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer with a powerful engine suited to pushing heavy loads against strong currents

It was specifically designed to replace Johnson’s earlier side-wheeler General Jesup and to handle the Colorado’s difficult conditions—shifting sandbars, snags, shallow water (especially in low-water seasons), and strong currents. The stern-wheel configuration and shallow draft made it far better suited to these conditions than earlier side-wheel vessels.

The boat was disassembled in San Francisco, shipped to the mouth of the Colorado River, transferred to another vessel, and taken upriver to Gridiron Landing in Sonora, Mexico, where it was reassembled and launched in August 1859.

Role on the Colorado River

Operated by George A. Johnson & Company (later associated with the Colorado Steam Navigation Company), the Cocopah I played a central role in the commercial and military development of the lower and middle Colorado River corridor during the late 1850s and 1860s.

It ran routes primarily from the river’s mouth/Gulf of California area (and later the safer Port Isabel Slough) northward. Key destinations included Fort Yuma (about 120 miles upriver), La Paz/Ehrenberg area mining districts, Fort Mohave/Hardyville (roughly 300 miles), and occasionally farther during high water (toward Eldorado Canyon or similar points). Wood yards along the river, often staffed by Cocopah laborers cutting cottonwood and mesquite, supplied fuel.

Captain David C. Robinson (a longtime Johnson employee who had previously commanded the exploratory steamer Explorer far upriver) was its primary early captain.

The vessel transported freight, passengers, mining equipment, provisions, and military supplies. It supported:

• U.S. Army posts (notably Fort Yuma and the newly established Fort Mohave after the 1858–1859 Mohave War)
• Early gold and silver mining booms along the river
• Settlement and commerce in what became Arizona Territory and adjacent areas

One of its early major tasks involved supporting military logistics connected with Fort Mohave (established 1859). Steamers including the Cocopah helped move troops, artillery, and supplies upriver when overland routes proved difficult. Freight rates by steamer were dramatically lower than overland teamster rates, helping open the region economically.

The Cocopah I exemplified the shift to larger, more capable stern-wheelers that made regular commercial navigation practical on the challenging Colorado.

Ultimate Fate

The Cocopah I remained in service until 1867. By then it had seen heavy use; accounts note boiler repairs and eventual condemnation as unseaworthy. Its boiler and engine were removed, and the hull was hauled ashore at Port Isabel, Sonora (the company’s port and shipyard settlement near the river mouth). There it was converted into housing for workmen.

It was replaced by the larger Cocopah II (launched 1867 at Arizona City), which continued in the fleet for more than a decade until railroad competition (especially the Southern Pacific bridge at Yuma) ended the main era of Colorado River steamboating.

The Cocopah I is remembered as a pioneering large stern-wheeler that helped establish reliable steam navigation on the Colorado and supported the military, mining, and settlement expansion of the desert Southwest in the mid-19th century. Primary sources for these details include Richard E. Lingenfelter’s Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 and National Park Service historical summaries.