Sheet Music, Bailey Gatzert March

While many wood-fueled steamers operated on the Columbia River between the 1850s and the early 20th century, the Bailey Gatzert was one of the most famous. It was known for its speed, elegance, and long service on passenger routes between Portland and Astoria, the lower Cascades, and The Dalles. While earlier steamers had transported cargo between Portland and the upper Columbia River Basin, that traffic was dominated by railroads in the 1880s. In 1890, John Holland’s shipyard in Seattle built the Bailey Gatzert for the Seattle Steam and Navigation Company (SSNC). In 1891, Captain U.B. Scott’s Columbia Transportation Company merged with the SSNC, creating the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company. Scott was the president of the company, which was later known as the White Collar Line. The Bailey Gatzert, named after a Seattle mayor, was moved to the Columbia River in 1892, where it operated for many years. The steamer was one of the fastest on the river at a time when captains would race to pass each other on daily routes. The Bailey Gatzert March, a piano melody written by Decker and Velguth to commemorate the boat, was featured during the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition and Oriental Fair in Portland. During the fair, the steamer ferried tourists twice a day on roundtrips to the Cascade Canal and Locks. The Bailey Gatzert was rebuilt in 1907, and in 1917 it returned to Seattle to operate as a car and passenger ferry. In 1926, it became a floating machine shop on Seattle’s Lake Union.

Further Reading:
Mills, Randall V. Stern-wheelers up Columbia. Palo Alto, Calif., 1947

Naab, Michael “Ghost of Elegant Sternwheeler Haunts Scenic Columbia River Run.” Pacific Powerland 1, 1974.

Written by Kathy Tucker, © Oregon Historical Society, 2002.