SS City of Chester

Coordinates: 37°48′50″N 122°28′00″W / 37.81389°N 122.46667°W / 37.81389; -122.46667
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For the British steamship built in 1873, see RMS City of Chester.
History
United States
NameSS City of Chester
OwnerOregon Railroad Co.
OperatorPacific Coast Steamship Company
Port of registryPortland, Oregon
BuilderJohn Roach & Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania
Launched11 February 1873
CompletedApril 1873
In service1875
Identification
FateSunk in collision 22 August 1888
NotesSometimes confused with 1872 City of Chester also built Chester, Pa., O/N 125002, 153.78 GRT, 107 feet (33 m) length registered at New York, N.Y.
General characteristics [1][2]
Tonnage1,106.21 GRT, 785.33 NRT
Length202 feet (62 m)
Beam33.2 ft (10.1 m)
Depth15.9 feet (4.8 m)
Installed power2 X 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) long boilers, 1 X 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m), 1 X 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) diameter
Propulsion
  • 2 cyl compound steam engine
  • 24 in (61.0 cm) & 44 ft (13.4 m), 45 ft (13.7 m) stroke
Speed11 nmi (13 mi; 20 km)
CapacityPassengers: 114 first class, 200 steerage

The SS City of Chester was a steamship built in 1875 that sank after a collision in a dense fog with SS Oceanic at the Golden Gate in San Francisco Bay on August 22, 1888. She was owned by the Oregon Railroad Co. and leased by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.[3][4]

City of Chester had been purchased in October 1876 and brought from New York around South America to Portland, Oregon in March 1877 and used in coastal trade. At the time of the collision the ship was in service from San Francisco to Eureka and other locations in the vicinity. City of Chester was outbound with Oceanic inbound from Hong Kong. Though the ships sighted each other findings indicated the smaller vessel was caught in a tidal current, cut almost in two by the liner and sank in about six minutes with loss of sixteen passengers and three crew.

The wreck was relocated in May 2013 by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey Navigational Response Team 6 with multi-beam sonar.

Construction[edit]

City of Chester was built in 1875 by John Roach & Sons in Chester, Pennsylvania. The ship was 1,106.21 GRT, 785.33 NRT, 202 feet (62 m) long, 33.2 feet (10.1 m) beam, 15.9 feet (4.8 m) depth of hold, with two boilers, a compound steam engine rated at 600 indicated horsepower. The ship was registered at Portland, Oregon with U.S. Official Number 125473, signal JRNK.[1][2][5]

History[edit]

City of Chester, purchased in October 1876 by the Oregon Steamship Company to replace the steamer John L. Stephnes, left New York December 29, 1876 for San Francisco. The ship was the first to use the newly opened East River channel through Hell Gate then passing around South America through the Strait of Magellan. After voyage repairs at San Francisco the ship departed for Portland, Oregon on March 24, 1877. The Oregon Steamship Company merged with the Oregon Steam Navigation Company in 1879 forming the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. The ship was used in coast-wise trade.[2]

At the time of the collision the ship was chartered to the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.[2] The normal route at that time was departure from San Francisco's Broadway Wharf on Wednesdays for the California cities of Eureka, Arcata and Fields Landing on Humboldt Bay returning from Eureka on Saturdays.[6]

Sinking[edit]

Heading to Eureka, California, with 90 passengers on the foggy morning of August 22, 1888, at about 10 am she collided with Oceanic, a liner inbound from Hong Kong.[7] The two ships saw each other, but as was later determined by a British Naval Court, City of Chester was caught by tidal current and carried into the path of the larger ship.[5][8] An eyewitness aboard Oceanic said: "Into her we crashed with irrisistible force, cutting her just as though she was a cheese."[9] She sank in six minutes, and despite rescue efforts by those aboard Oceanic, sixteen passengers, including two children, and three crew members died.[5] In terms of loss of life, this is the second most deadly wreck in the history of San Francisco Bay, after the sinking of the SS City of Rio de Janeiro in 1901.[10]

Oceanic had Chinese crew and her steerage passengers were Chinese immigrants; anti-Chinese xenophobia was high in the US at the time and initially the Chinese were accused of letting City of Chester's passengers drown. When news of their efforts to save them came out, it helped to reduce the prejudice against the Chinese.[5][7]

Discovery of wreck[edit]

The wreck is located in 216 feet (66 m) of water just inside the Golden Gate Bridge at 37°48′50″N 122°28′00″W / 37.81389°N 122.46667°W / 37.81389; -122.46667[11][10] and was found in May 2013 by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Coast Survey Navigational Response Team 6 using multi-beam sonar.[5][7] It is only 400 feet (120 m) from where it was located by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, one of the ancestor agencies of NOAA, in September 1888 in a hydrographic survey using a wire dragged from the tug Raymond.[5][7][12]

An exhibit on City of Chester is to be created at the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary office at Crissy Field. The office occupies the building erected as a United States Life-Saving Service station in response to the disaster.[7]

Gallery[edit]

  • Oil painting by Robert Gilbert of the collision of Oceanic and City of Chester near Fort Point in 1888
    Oil painting by Robert Gilbert of the collision of Oceanic and City of Chester near Fort Point in 1888
  • Illustration of the collision from the San Francisco Chronicle
    Illustration of the collision from the San Francisco Chronicle

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Nineteenth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1887. Washington, D.C.: Treasury Department. 1887. p. 278. hdl:2027/uc1.b3330057. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Shipwreck SS City of Chester - First Archaeological Three-Dimensional Sonar Survey" (PDF). Office of Marine Sanctuaries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  3. ^ Berman, Mark (April 23, 2014). "A 19th-century shipwreck near the Golden Gate Bridge was just discovered (again)". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ "Miscellaneous". Daily Alta California. February 14, 1891. p. 6.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Fimrite, Peter (April 23, 2014). "Sunken ship discovery in SF Bay revives memories of xenophobia". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ^ Travelers' Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada. New York: National Railway Publication Company. October 1888. p. 342. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e "NOAA Coast Survey ship finds 19th century shipwreck off Golden Gate Bridge — again". NOAA. April 23, 2013.
  8. ^ "The Tide Did It: Verdict of the British Naval Court on the Bay Disaster". Daily Alta California. August 30, 1888. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Sickening Sights: A Passenger's Vivid Description of the Catastrophe". Sacramento Daily Union. August 24, 1888. p. 4.
  10. ^ a b Dearen, Jason (April 24, 2014). "Images released of shipwreck in San Francisco Bay". Yahoo! news. AP.
  11. ^ "Shipwreck Database". California State Lands Commission. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  12. ^ Occidental & Oriental Steamship Company v. Henry F. Smith, et al., 209–218 (9th Cir. 1894), Text.

Further reading[edit]

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