Aberdeen’s nautical bone yard

Nothing New by Roy Vataja

May 19, 2017 10:00 pm
The sternwheeler Josie Burrows was one of several in the early part of the last century that ran regular routes from Montesano to Aberdeen and Hoquiam, and on to Westport and Oyehut. The Jessie Burrows was built in 1893 and fitted with machinery from the retired sternwheeler Aberdeen by C.E. Burrows who operated the City Dock at the foot of F Street. He named the good ship after his young daughter who passed away in 1894 at the age of 6. (Roy Vataja Collection) The sternwheeler Josie Burrows was one of several in the early part of the last century that ran regular routes from Montesano to Aberdeen and Hoquiam, and on to Westport and Oyehut. The Jessie Burrows was built in 1893 and fitted with machinery from the retired sternwheeler Aberdeen by C.E. Burrows who operated the City Dock at the foot of F Street. He named the good ship after his young daughter who passed away in 1894 at the age of 6. (Roy Vataja Collection)
The sternwheeler Josie Burrows was one of several in the early part of the last century that ran regular routes from Montesano to Aberdeen and Hoquiam, and on to Westport and Oyehut. The Jessie Burrows was built in 1893 and fitted with machinery from the retired sternwheeler Aberdeen by C.E. Burrows who operated the City Dock at the foot of F Street. He named the good ship after his young daughter who passed away in 1894 at the age of 6. (Roy Vataja Collection) The sternwheeler Josie Burrows was one of several in the early part of the last century that ran regular routes from Montesano to Aberdeen and Hoquiam, and on to Westport and Oyehut. The Jessie Burrows was built in 1893 and fitted with machinery from the retired sternwheeler Aberdeen by C.E. Burrows who operated the City Dock at the foot of F Street. He named the good ship after his young daughter who passed away in 1894 at the age of 6. (Roy Vataja Collection)

By Roy Vataja

When the first pioneers arrived in Grays Harbor, they found the country to be an often-impenetrable maze of thick forests, gullies, and mud flats, and quite difficult to lay roads through. Other than a few footpaths, the most efficient mode of transport was by boat on the rivers, creeks, and sloughs that wended their way throughout the area. On May 20, 1905, the Aberdeen Daily Bulletin printed this article regarding the ‘’bone yard’’ located on the Chehalis River tide flats between F and G Streets where the derelict vessels were taken when no longer usable and left to founder in the organic mud. It is a fascinating glimpse into Grays Harbor in late 1890s and into the 1910s.

WRECKS IN THE MARINE BONE YARD OF ABERDEEN — With one hull fully covered with mud, another half-buried, the third a shattered, empty hull rubbing against her companions, there now remains little to be seen of the boats which first plied the Chehalis River and Grays Harbor when Aberdeen was a village and the big steamers and steam schooners had yet to make their now-continuous runs to this port for immense cargoes of lumber.

The bone yard which harbors these decrepit old hulks lies on the north side of the river between F and G Streets, at the rear of the old foundry and but a few rods from the Harbor Dock. Of the river steamers of the old stern-wheeler type, which has not yet been discarded by the way, lie the remains of the boats ABERDEEN, CURIO and HATTIE BELLE. The latter still floats but very little of the others can be seen, even at low tide. Stripped of every vestige of machinery the BELLE now harbors a few bachelor fishermen, who have fixed up little homes in the two cabins at the upper deck, using the rails for drying their nets.

Directly across the river, hauled up on the mud flat, the old MONTESANO, the first boat to run on the harbor. Being the pioneer craft she was evidently loath to associate with the plebeians who went to rest across the river, and stands alone on the south bank of the stream. Of the many others who entered the business after her, none were able to stand the place, and were abandoned, while the MONTESANO continued to churn up the mud from the bottom of the river and lasted until a year ago, finally going to rest after fifteen years of continuous service.

She was built in 1887 at Cosmopolis by the Grays Harbor Commercial Company for putties at that place. She was commanded by Capt. Hennesy, who had charge of her fortunes for the two years before she was purchased by Aberdeen people. Capt. Hennesy knew the channel of the river except in one place and that was Cow Point. There seemed to be a certain snag that he could not go by without striking and on one of these occasions the captain was on the anxious seat for a time. The MONTESANO was hard and fast and began to fill. Is was almost decided to abandon the boat to her fate, when she was saved by a series of favorable circumstances. She was repaired and put back on her run again, to come into the possession of the C.E. Burrows Company of this city, who used her on a passenger route from this city to Montesano, and the ocean beach at Westport in the summer months, which trips were continued for the fifteen years of her service life, and up to the day she was abandoned. She is yet in fair shape and her owners say that if the freight and towing business would justify her use, they would refit and repair her and put her into active service again.

While the MONTESANO had the distinction of being the only big stern wheeler on the river, the ABERDEEN, of the same type, was built and put into commission. Her business was to ferry passengers and freight to South Aberdeen across the river, and to make a round trip from this city to Montesano dairy. This proved a big task and she did not last long. The JOSIE BURROWS was built soon after and the machinery of the ABERDEEN was transferred to the new boat, the hull of the former being useless, and towed to the bone yard. The JOSIE BURROWS was engaged in the river trade for a number of years, after which she was sent to the Sound, where she subsequently burned.

The HATTIE BELLE, next in line, had somewhat of a checkered career. She was built on the Columbia River and brought here in 1900 by the Citizens’ Transfer Company, composed of Capt. Smith, Roger Reed, and a Cosmopolis man. On the way here she was run on the rocks in the Columbia but put back and was repaired before coming to Grays Harbor.

She was used for a part of two seasons under the guidance of Capt. Smith and was “run on whiskey” it is alleged. There was dissension among the owners and the boat was finally seized to pay a debt, falling into the hands of the Burrows Company. When her days of uselessness were over, a part of her machinery was transferred to the SKOOKUM and she went to her probably last resting place.

The CURIO, an old tub which was everything the name implies, was purchased from the original owners by Capt. Tom Haynes, now running a river steamer in Alaska. She was subsequently purchased by the Burrows Company and engaged in the river trade until her hull went to pieces. The machinery was sold to Henry Spoon for a Wishkah River boat and the remains of the CURIO were hauled to the bone yard, almost every trace of which is obliterated. The steamer T.C. REED, now on the Sound, also played an important part in the river trade of Grays Harbor and was used here for a number of years by the Burrows Company. The HARBOR BELLE, SKOOKUM and HARBOR QUEEN are now the only boats of the sternwheel-type on the river and they comfortably handle the towing, passenger and business incident to the summer months when a trip to the beach is uppermost in the minds of pleasure seekers.

Roy Vataja is the son of Finnish immigrants and spent a lot of time in the early 1980s digging in the mud at the old bone yard, and even found a few artifacts. There is still plenty of history buried around the Harbor.