page_title: Grahamona
section_title: Placed on Portland-Lewiston route
hierarchical_section_title: Grahamona / Placed on Portland-Lewiston route
caption_attribution_description: English: Advertisement for Portland-Lewiston route by sternwheeler Grahamona, placed in Morning Oregonian on June 17, 1919, page 20, col.7.
context_page_description: Grahamona was a sternwheel steamboat built in 1912 for the Oregon City Transportation Company, commonly known as the Yellow Stack Line. Grahamona was specially designed to serve on the shallow waters of the upper Willamette River. It was one of the largest steamboats ever to operate on the upper Willamette. In 1920, Grahamona was sold and the name was changed to Northwestern. In 1939, the vessel was sold again, and transferred to Alaska for service on the Kuskokwim River.
context_section_description: On May 1, 1919, Capt. C. Raabe of O.C.T.C. announced Grahamona would be placed on a running from Portland, Oregon to Lewiston, Idaho.  Lewiston was the farthest point that could be reached on navigable waters on the west side of the Rocky Mountains.  The run from Portland to Lewiston was reported to have been 500 miles, one of the longest in North America.  On this route, Grahamona would use the Celilo Canal, then recently completed by the government at a cost of $4,000,000.
  The first run was to originate from Portland on Wednesday night, at 10:00 p.m., June 11, 1919, under two very experienced captains, Clyde Raabe, and Art Riggs.  Reportedly 100 tons of freight had been assembled at Lewiston awaiting pick up and transport downstream by Grahamona.
  Before the trip, now reported to be 388 miles in length, was undertaken, Grahamona was overhauled, with additional keelsons installed and converted to a coal burner.  Conversion to oil-firing was considered but rejected as it was thought the cost would be too great on the Lewiston route.  The shallow draft of Grahamona was thought to give some advantage on the Snake River.
  Grahamona was only able to make two trips to Lewiston that year.  Coming back down river from Lewiston, the boat hit a boulder off Haunted House shoal in the Snake River and as a result had to be beached. Grahamona’s crew was reported to have built a bulkhead around the hull breach, so that the steamer could return to Portland for repairs.  At that time, O.C.T.C. officials believed that only one more trip could be made to Lewiston before low water in the Snake river prevented navigation.  For the trip, the company secured the steamer Nespelem to replace the damaged Grahamona.
caption: Advertisement for Portland-Lewiston service by Grahamona, June 17, 1919.
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