Archives West Finding Aid
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The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company Records, 1890 May-1919 June
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company
- Title
- The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company Records
- Dates
- 1890 May-1919
June (inclusive)1890-051919-06
- Quantity
- 0.75 linear ft., (2 boxes)
- Collection Number
- Mss 47
- Summary
- Records of a company that operated steamboats on the Columbia River, carrying passengers and freight between Portland, Oregon, and The Dalles, Oregon.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for preserving this collection was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
A group of prominent businessmen from The Dalles, Oregon, and vicinity incorporated The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company (DP&AN) in 1890, in response to what people in the region viewed as excessive freight and passenger rates charged by steamboat companies operating between The Dalles and Portland, Oregon, most notably the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company (OR&N). The DP&AN started operating two sternwheel steamers, the Regulator and Dalles City in 1891 and competed successfully against the OR&N. The DP&AN built a large warehouse at The Dalles, which facilitated shipment of wheat and wool from the region's farms to Portland, and constructed or leased wharves on both sides of the Columbia River.
The company was based at The Dalles until May 1902, when it was sold to the Columbia River & Northern Railway Company (CR&NR). Portland business interests dominated the CR&NR, which was building a railroad line between Lyle and Goldendale, Washington, and wanted to add river connections to Portland. They moved the headquarters to Portland, leaving The Dalles with a local agent, but the riverboat service continued to operate under the DP&AN name.
In 1905, the Northern Pacific quietly obtained control of the company through its subsidiary Northwestern Improvement Company, and control was transferred to the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway in March 1908. The DP&AN stock was sold in 1915 to Drake C. O'Reilly, operator of the Diamond O Navigation Company, but the corporation was not dissolved until 1919, when its remaining assets were transferred to the Diamond O.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of articles of incorporation and bylaws, records of stock sales, stockholder meetings, and boards of directors meetings, as well as a few administrative documents, including the certificate of dissolution. The records reflect changes in ownership, but the collection does not include the company's operational records, except as reflected in board meeting minutes. Among the issues that board members addressed on a regular basis were purchase, sale, and retrofitting of steamboats; purchase, lease, maintenance, and sale of wharf sites; hiring and firing captains and other personnel; setting freight and passenger rates; steamboat accidents and related legal issues; and dealing with competitors. There are no records between February 1915 and June 1919. The collection is contained in two bound minute books and three bound stock certificate books, as well as a small quantity of loose papers originally located within the bound volumes. The minutes were hand written in ink until 1906, when typed pages were glued into the book. One stray 1922 letter, probably from the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway, was found between the pages of one volume.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company Records, Mss 47, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The bound volumes are numbered 1 through 5. Loose papers found within volumes are foldered separately but are identified with the volumes that contained them.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Mrs. H. Dent , Jr., August 1974 (Accession no. 13035).
Processing Note
Bound volumes were individually foldered, and loose papers contained within the volumes were separately foldered for preservation but clearly identified as to original locations within the volumes.
Related Materials
Digital copies of photographs of steamboats operated on the Columbia River by The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company are accessible through the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's on-line catalog.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Volume 1—minute book, stockholders and board of directors meetings | 1891 April-1899 October |
| 1/2 | Volume 1—loose document
Carbon copy of letter from J.C. Daries, right of way agent, to
G.E. Votow, both of Portland, re. Haulenbeck Brothers lease of lumber yard site
at North Plains, Oregon.
|
1922 July 7 |
| 1/3 | Volume 2—minute book, stockholders and board of directors meetings | 1899 November-1919 June |
| 1/4 | Volume 2—Articles of
Incorporation
Certified copy obtained in 1913 and removed from envelope inside
front cover of Volume 2.
|
1890 May 9 |
| 1/5 | Volume 2—Columbia River &
Northern Railway Company by-laws
Copy sent to D.C. O'Reilly, then president of The Dalles, Portland
and Astoria Navigation Company, by W.F. Turner, secretary, Spokane, Portland
& Seattle Railway Company, 1916 January 5. Removed from envelope inside
front cover of Volume 2.
|
1902 |
| 1/6 | Volume 2—loose
documents
Northwestern Improvement Company proxy, 1907; Columbia River and
Northern Railway license, 1913.
|
1907, 1913 |
| 1/7 | Volume 3—stock certificate book (nos. 1-125) | 1891 September 25-1895 June 25 |
| 2/1 | Volume 4—stock certificate book (nos. 126-229) | 1895 June 25-1907 June 21 |
| 2/2 | Volume 4—stock certificates loose inside volume (nos. 230-241) | 1907 June 2-1911 May 8 |
| 2/3 | Volume 4—loose document with Stock Certificate No. 180 | 1902 May 9 |
| 2/4 | Volume 5—stock certificate book (nos. 242-254) | 12 May 10-1915 May 17 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Steam-navigation--Columbia River.
- Steam-navigation--Oregon.
- Steamboat lines--Oregon.
- Steamboat lines--Columbia River.
Personal Names
- O'Reilly, Drake C.
Corporate Names
- Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Company--Archives. (creator)
- Columbia River & Northern Railway Company.
- Diamond O Navigation Company.
- Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
Form or Genre Terms
- Business records.
- Minutes.
- Stock certificates.
