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Sierra (motor ship)

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Coordinates: 46°58′31″N 123°48′02″W / 46.97528°N 123.80056°W / 46.97528; -123.80056 (SIERRA (motor ship))
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Sierra (motor ship)
Sierra
Sierra (motor ship) is located in Washington (state)
Sierra (motor ship)
Sierra (motor ship) is located in the United States
Sierra (motor ship)
Location1401 Sargent Blvd., Aberdeen, Washington
Coordinates46°58′31″N 123°48′02″W / 46.97528°N 123.80056°W / 46.97528; -123.80056 (SIERRA (motor ship))
Built1916 (1916)
Built byG. F. Matthews
ArchitectGeorge H. Hitchings
NRHP reference No.78002745[1]
General characteristics
TypeMotor ship
Length218 ft (66 m)[2]
Beam42 ft (13 m)[2]
Depth15 ft (4.6 m)[2]
PropulsionMotor
Added to NRHPMarch 29, 1978

Sierra is a historic motor ship used to transport lumber. Built in 1916, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[3]

History

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Sierra was built at Matthews shipyard in Hoquiam[4] for E. K. Wood Lumber Company[2] and was the first motor ship built on Grays Harbor.[5] The ship's engines were made in Sweden[6] by Bolinder, which sent a representative to oversee their installation.[3] Senator Miles Poindexter attended the ship's launch on August 30, 1916.[7]

Its first long voyage was to Valparaíso, Chile.[2] Sierra was able to complete the round-trip without refueling.[3]

Sierra was used to ferry lumber between Bellingham, Washington and Hoquiam, Washington.[3] In one month in 1920, Sierra carried a shipment of 1,200,000 feet of lumber out of Bellingham.[8]

On Feb 7, 1923, Sierra was badly damaged after colliding with the steamship Wilhemina in dense fog near San Francisco; damages were estimated at $135,000.[9]

In 1926, Sierra caught fire at Berth 77 in the Port of Los Angeles, the first fire fought by the fireboat Los Angeles City No. 2.[10]

Sierra was sold in 1927 and equipped with refrigeration equipment to carry reindeer meat from Alaska for the Arctic Transport Company.[11] During World War II, the U.S. Army operated Sierra as a training ship.[3] After the war, Sierra was assigned to the Maritime Commission reserve fleet at Olympia, Washington, then later sold and transferred to Lake Union.[11]

In 1964, the new owner began restoring Sierra to its original, lumber-carrying configuration.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Motorship. Miller Freeman. 1921. p. 642.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: SIERRA (motor ship)". National Park Service. 4 Nov 1976. Retrieved October 23, 2019. With 2 accompanying pictures
  4. ^ "On the Shores of Grays Harbor". Pacific Marine Review. 16. J.S. Hines: 141. 1919.
  5. ^ "Hoquiam". Anacortes American. 14 Sep 1916. p. 6.
  6. ^ "Machinery Arrives for the Steamer Sierra". Aberdeen Herald. 8 Sep 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 16 Nov 2019.
  7. ^ "Lumber Town for Poindexter". The Seattle Star. 31 Aug 1916. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Bellingham". The Timberman. 21. M. Freeman Publications: 85. March 1920.
  9. ^ "Pacific Ports". Vol. IX, no. 4. Pacific Ports, Incorporated. April 1923. pp. 53, 55. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  10. ^ "South Bay History: Fireboat No. 2, the Ralph J. Scott, served the Port of Los Angeles with distinction for 78 years". Daily Breeze. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  11. ^ a b The H.W. McCurdy marine history of the Pacific Northwest, 1966-1976. McCurdy, H. W. (Horace Winslow), 1899-1989., Newell, Gordon R., Seattle Historical Society. Seattle: Superior Pub. Co. 1977. pp. 387–388, 546, 554. ISBN 0875642209. OCLC 2646126.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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