On March 9, 1922, the steamer Virginia V is launched. Built by Matthew Anderson on the beach at Maplewood, in Pierce County, she is the last of a line of working steamers all bearing the name Virginia owned and operated by the West Pass Transportation Company.
Virginia V was and is still equipped with the 1898 triple expansion reciprocating steam engine built by Heffernan Iron Works of Seattle, an engine that was originally fitted into her predecessor, Virginia IV.
After a long life as a working vessel, in 1980 the steamer was purchased by the Steamer Virginia V Foundation, a non-profit corporation. The United States Secretary of the Interior designated Virginia V a National Historic Landmark on September 5, 1992.
Sources:
Roland Carey, Isle of the Sea Breezers (Seattle: Alderbrook Publishing Company, 1976); Roland Carey, The Sound and the Mountain (Seattle: Alderbrook Publishing Company, 1970); Roland Carey, The Sound of the Steamers (Seattle: Alderbrook Publishing Company, 1965); M. S. Kline, Steamboat Virginia V (Bellevue: Documentary Book Publishing Corp., 1985).
Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that
encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both
HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any
reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this
Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For
more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact
the source noted in the image credit.
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided
By:
The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins
| Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry
| 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle
| City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach
Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private
Sponsors and Visitors Like You