Charles R. Spencer was a steamboat built in 1901 to run on the Willamette and Columbia rivers from Portland, to The Dalles, Oregon. This vessel was described as an "elegant passenger boat". After 1911
Charles R. Spencer
Charles R. Spencer and Bailey Gatzert descending Cascade Locks circa 1906.
This photograph is from an old colorized postcard. The view is towards the west, and shows T.J. Potter pulling away from a landing, probably just before entering the Cascade Locks. Another steamer, a sternwheeler, is in the foreground, this is possibly the Charles Spencer. Coming up to the landing from the west another steamer can be seen, which from the vessel's apparent configuration and the white collar on her funnel, appears to be the Bailey Gatzert. The large crowds on all the steamers are readily visible; this is an excellent depiction of the high point of steamboat operations on the river.
The Cascade Locks and Canal was a navigation project on the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, completed in 1896. It allowed the steamboats of the Columbia River to bypas
Charles R. Spencer
…the captain of Spencer made up the time by running the Cascades Rapids (an extremely risky undertaking) while Bailey Gatzert was moving through the Cascade Locks . On July 12, 1904, Spencer was racing the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company's Dalles City on the Columbia about 15 miles upstream from Hood River…
Dalles City and Regulator in Cascade Locks
Cascade Locks, circa 1897, looking east, locks are functioning but bank work is still ongoing
Cascade Locks, circa 1897, looking south and downriver across lower lock
Cascade Locks, circa 1897, looking south, showing middle lock and lockmaster and engineer buildings on embankment on south side