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Colorado II – Colorado River Steamship

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The Colorado II was a stern-wheel paddle steamer (sternwheeler) that operated on the Colorado River from 1862 until it was dismantled in 1882. It was the second vessel of that name and the fifth steamboat overall on the lower Colorado River. It played a key role in freight and passenger transport supporting military posts, mining, and settlement in the desert Southwest during the peak of river steamboating.

Colorado II in a tidal dry dock in the shipyard above Port Isabel, Sonora - MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944
Colorado II in a tidal dry dock in the shipyard above Port Isabel, Sonora – MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944

Background and Construction

Steamboat service on the Colorado River began in the early 1850s to supply Fort Yuma (near present-day Yuma, Arizona) and other points upriver, as overland transport across the desert was difficult and expensive. George A. Johnson & Company dominated the trade. The original Colorado (often called Colorado I), launched in late 1855, was a 120-foot sternwheeler that could carry about 60–70 tons on a shallow draft of under two feet. It used an 80-horsepower engine and was captained at times by Isaac Polhamus (later known as the “Dean of the Colorado River”).

By 1862 the original Colorado was worn out. Its hull was dismantled in April 1862 at Arizona City (Yuma). The engine and boiler were removed and reused. Shipbuilder John G. North (a well-known California steamboat builder) constructed a new, larger hull in San Francisco. The parts were shipped to the Colorado River and assembled/launched at Arizona City under the guns of Fort Yuma, due to fears of Confederate raiders during the Civil War. The new vessel—Colorado II—entered service around December 1862 (some sources note May or later in the year for full operations).

Specifications

  • Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer (sternwheeler)
  • Tonnage: 179 tons
  • Length: 145 feet
  • Beam (width): 29 feet
  • Draft: Approximately 16 inches (very shallow, suited to the river’s sandbars and variable water levels)
  • Engine: 80 hp steam engine reused from Colorado I
  • Cargo capacity: Around 70 tons (some accounts note higher freight capacity in practice; one source cites capacity for 179 tons of freight, aligning with displacement)
  • Builder: John G. North (hull); machinery from the prior vessel
  • Owners: George A. Johnson & Company, later the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (C.S.N.Co., reorganized 1869)

These shallow-draft design features were essential for navigating the lower Colorado’s shifting channels, sandbars, and seasonal low water.

Role on the Colorado River

Colorado II operated primarily on the lower Colorado River, from the river mouth/delta area (near Port Isabel, Sonora, Mexico, on the Gulf of California) northward past Arizona City/Yuma, to landings serving mining districts, military posts (including Fort Mohave), and settlements in present-day Arizona, California, and Nevada. It carried freight (supplies, mining machinery, ore, wool, agricultural goods), passengers, and often towed barges to increase capacity.

It was part of Johnson’s fleet that held a near-monopoly after absorbing rivals in the 1860s. Key captains included Stephen Thorne. The vessel worked alongside others such as the Cocopah (I and later II), Mohave, Nina Tilden, and barges. Woodyards (often staffed by local Cocopah people) supplied fuel along the route. Trips supported the growth of mining (e.g., in areas like Eldorado Canyon) and military logistics. By the late 1860s–1870s the company (reorganized as C.S.N.Co.) ran multiple steamers and handled thousands of tons of freight and hundreds of passengers annually. Colorado II is documented in period photos, including at Fort Yuma landings and in a tidal dry dock at Port Isabel.

Competition from rival lines (e.g., in the mid-1860s) was short-lived. The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Yuma in 1877 (with a bridge soon after) sharply reduced the need for long-haul river transport, as rail took over east-west traffic. The steamboat company was sold to Southern Pacific interests. Remaining boats, including Colorado II, continued for a time on residual upper-river and local service.

Ultimate Fate

Colorado II remained in service until 1882, when it was dismantled (sources consistently list 1882; some note August). This was typical for aging Colorado River steamboats once machinery wore out or traffic declined—hulls were often broken up, and usable parts reused or the vessels beached. It outlasted several contemporaries (e.g., Cocopah II was dismantled around 1881). The broader steamboat era on the lower Colorado effectively ended with the construction of Laguna Dam (completed around 1909), which blocked navigation, though limited operations continued a few years longer with smaller vessels.

Colorado II exemplifies the practical, shallow-draft sternwheelers that opened the desert Southwest to reliable waterborne commerce for roughly three decades before railroads and dams rendered them obsolete. Primary details come from historical compilations of Colorado River steamboats, including Wikipedia summaries drawing on period accounts and works such as those referencing MacMullen’s Paddle-Wheel Days in California.

Mohave II – Colorado River Steamship

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Mohave II (also referred to as Mohave) was a stern-wheel steamboat and the largest vessel ever to operate on the Colorado River. It was the first and only double-smokestack (twin-stack) steamboat on the river, giving it a distinctive silhouette that resembled the larger, more ornate Mississippi River packets in outward appearance, though its interior was utilitarian and geared toward practical freight and passenger work rather than luxury.

Mohave II at Yuma, Arizona, with Sunday school group embarked, 1876 - Unknown author - MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944
Mohave II at Yuma, Arizona, with Sunday school group embarked, 1876 – Unknown author – MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, 1944

Physical Description and Design

Built by San Francisco shipbuilder Patrick Henry Tiernan (the same builder of the earlier Gila), the Mohave II was constructed in sections in San Francisco, disassembled, shipped to the Colorado River Delta, and reassembled at the shipyard in Port Isabel, Sonora, Mexico (at the mouth of the Colorado River). It was launched in May 1876.

Key specifications included:

  • Displacement/tonnage: 188 tons.
  • Length: 149.5 feet.
  • Beam (width): 31.5 feet.
  • Draft: Approximately 1 foot (12 inches) of water—shallower than the Gila by about half a foot—which allowed it to navigate farther into shallow sloughs, sandbars, and low-water conditions than most other boats on the river.
  • Hull depth: Roughly 3–3.1 feet.
  • Propulsion: Stern-wheel paddle design, optimized for the Colorado’s shallow, shifting, sandbar-filled waters and strong currents.
  • Distinctive features: Twin smokestacks (the only such configuration on the river), contributing to its “palatial” or “magnificent” advertising image for excursions.

Despite its imposing external look, it was primarily a working vessel designed to tow barges and carry substantial cargo while also accommodating passengers for both commercial and recreational trips. Its shallow draft made it especially versatile for the challenging lower Colorado River environment.

History of Usage

The Mohave II was built by the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (C.S.N.C., formerly George A. Johnson & Company) specifically to replace the worn-out Mohave I (a 1864 stern-wheeler that had been dismantled in 1875 at Port Isabel, with its machinery later reused elsewhere). It entered service in 1876 and operated for about a quarter-century until around 1900.

It served as a key freight, passenger, and towboat during the peak and gradual decline of Colorado River steamboating. Primary roles included:

  • Hauling ore, mining machinery, supplies, wool, and other goods to support mining booms (including later gold discoveries in areas like the Searchlight and Goldroad districts) and agricultural trade in the American Southwest.
  • Transporting troops, merchants, settlers, and tourists.
  • Towing barges (sometimes multiple) for heavier loads.
  • Supporting railroad construction, notably assisting with the wooden railroad bridge at Needles in the early 1880s by towing barges equipped with pile drivers.
  • Special excursion and pleasure trips, including Sunday school outings (famously photographed at Yuma in 1876), May Day and Fourth of July picnics, trips to islands or points of interest, and even longer voyages into the Gulf of California (one noted 10-day pleasure trip in 1895 under Captain Jack Mellon).

Notable captains and operators associated with it included Isaac Polhamus (and family members), Joseph H. Godfrey (nephew of Polhamus, who took it to its farthest recorded point), and John Alexander “Jack” Mellon. Under Godfrey in 1881, it reached Rioville (at the mouth of the Virgin River in Nevada), the practical highest point of steam navigation on the lower Colorado during high water—extending roughly 450–600 miles upstream depending on conditions and measurement from the mouth or Yuma.

The boat helped sustain the C.S.N.C.’s dominance on the river even as railroads began encroaching in the late 1870s–1880s (the company was eventually linked to or sold interests involving the Southern Pacific). Business fluctuated with mining activity; a late-1890s revival kept the Mohave II and Gila busy enough that a new barge (Enterprise) was needed. By the late 1890s, however, rail competition and aging vessels reduced operations. In early 1900, as the company shifted resources (reusing the Gila’s engine for the new Cochan to serve Searchlight mines), the Mohave II was stripped of its machinery, run into Jaeger’s Slough near Yuma, and left to decay (dismantled around January 1900). Broader Colorado River steamboating effectively ended with the completion of Laguna Dam (about 14 miles above Yuma) in 1909, which blocked upstream navigation.

Ports of Call and Routes

The Mohave II operated primarily on the lower Colorado River, with Yuma (Arizona Territory/Arizona; formerly Arizona City, near Fort Yuma) as the principal hub and supply center after the railroad reached it. Standard commercial runs covered roughly 450 miles or more upstream during suitable water levels, connecting the Gulf of California/delta region to upriver mining, military, and settlement points. Wood yards and landings along the route supplied fuel (often cut by local Cocopah and other Indigenous workers).

Key ports of call and landings associated with its service and the broader C.S.N.C. fleet (which it shared routes with) included, from downstream to upstream (approximate historical distances and activity periods where noted):

  • Delta/estuary area (Sonora and Baja California, Mexico): Port Isabel (shipyard and major anchorage/port until the late 1870s), Robinson’s Landing, Port Famine, Lerdo Landing, Gridiron, Ogden’s Landing, and others for cargo transfer from ocean vessels (to minimize Mexican customs issues) and wood.
  • Lower river near Yuma: Jaeger City/Colorado City area, Fort Yuma/Yuma (core hub for passengers, freight, military supply, and excursions).
  • Mid-river Arizona/California points: Castle Dome Landing, Picacho, Ehrenberg (important mining/freight transfer), La Paz area, Parker’s Landing/Camp Colorado, Liverpool Landing, and others serving ranches, mines, and ferries.
  • Upper mid-river: Needles (California; grew in importance with the railroad and bridge construction in the 1880s, where Mohave II assisted), Fort Mohave (Arizona Territory; major military post and regular stop), Hardyville (Arizona Territory; practical head of navigation at low water, near present-day Bullhead City area; key ferry and freight point), El Dorado Canyon (Nevada; silver mining support), and Mohave City.
  • Farthest reaches (high water): Rioville (Nevada, mouth of the Virgin River; reached in 1881), with occasional service toward Callville or related Mormon supply points earlier in the steamboat era.

Routes typically ran between the Gulf/delta or Yuma and Hardyville/Fort Mohave as the practical limit under normal conditions, with extensions farther north in high water. Downstream trips were much faster than upstream ones due to the current. The boat also made special recreational runs from Yuma or Needles to nearby points of interest or into the Gulf.

Overall, the Mohave II exemplified the height of Colorado River steamboating technology and commerce in the late 19th century—bridging the pre-railroad era of isolated desert Southwest settlement, mining, and military supply with the transition to rail dominance—while providing both essential transport and occasional community recreation on one of the West’s most difficult rivers.

Mohave I – Colorado River Steamships

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Mohave I (often simply called Mohave) was a stern-wheel steamboat that operated on the Colorado River from 1864 to 1875. It was the first vessel of that name on the river and an important workhorse in the mid-19th-century Colorado River trade, carrying freight, supplies, and passengers to support mining, military posts, and settlements in the Arizona Territory and beyond.

The steamboat Mohave departing the landing in El Dorado Canyon.
The steamboat Mohave departing the landing in El Dorado Canyon.

Description and Specifications

Mohave I was a wooden-hulled stern-wheeler built for the shallow, shifting, sandbar-filled waters of the lower Colorado River. Key dimensions and characteristics included:

  • Tonnage: 193 tons.
  • Length: 135 feet.
  • Beam: 28–29 feet.
  • Hull depth: Approximately 4 feet.
  • Draft: Relatively shallow for its size, allowing it to navigate low-water conditions better than deeper-draft vessels (though exact loaded/light drafts vary slightly in sources).
  • Propulsion: Stern-wheel paddle, powered by steam engines (specific horsepower not consistently recorded in primary summaries, but the vessel demonstrated strong power for the era).
  • Cargo capacity: Up to about 225 tons when running alone; it commonly towed one or two barges and could handle combined loads in the range of 100+ tons of cargo on barges in addition to its own capacity.

It was constructed in sections by the noted San Francisco shipbuilder John G. North at his shipyard. The sections were transported south and assembled/launched in the Colorado River estuary (near the mouth of the river in what is now the Sonora/Baja California border area of Mexico) in late May 1864. Ownership was under George A. Johnson & Company (later reorganized as the Colorado Steam Navigation Company around 1869).

Like other Colorado River stern-wheelers of the period, it was a utilitarian working boat rather than a luxurious passenger steamer. It featured a basic superstructure suited to freight and limited passenger service in a harsh desert environment, with wood-fired boilers that required frequent refueling at wood-yards along the river (often staffed by Cocopah laborers cutting cottonwood and mesquite). The river’s extreme tides near the mouth, tidal bore, strong seasonal currents (especially during spring rise), sandbars, and low-water periods made navigation demanding; boats typically did not run at night.

History of Construction and Usage

George A. Johnson & Company had dominated Colorado River steamboating since the early 1850s, supplying Fort Yuma and later expanding upriver as mining booms developed. By late 1863, however, a surge in mining activity (gold and silver districts) created a freight backlog. High rates, shortages, and limited capacity led to discontent among upriver miners and merchants. This prompted competition from an “opposition line,” including the arrival of the stern-wheeler Esmerelda (Union Line) in 1864.

Johnson responded by ordering Mohave I. After launch in May 1864, it quickly entered service hauling freight from the Gulf of California/estuary area northward. From 1865 onward it regularly towed barges. A standout demonstration of its power and capacity occurred on a May 27–June 6, 1866 voyage under Captain Isaac Polhamus: it covered approximately 365 miles upriver from Yuma to El Dorado Canyon in a record 10 days and 2 hours while carrying 225 tons of cargo. Strong spring currents slowed progress for four of those days (only 41 miles covered in that stretch), forcing Polhamus to transfer cargo from the two barges it was towing onto the steamer itself and leave the barges behind temporarily.

Throughout its career Mohave I supported:

  • Military logistics (supplying posts such as Fort Yuma and Fort Mohave).
  • Mining operations (delivering machinery, provisions, and supplies; returning with ore).
  • General commerce and settlement growth along the river corridor during the post-Civil War expansion of the Southwest.

It required periodic maintenance (hull work, caulking, etc.) at facilities in Yuma and Port Isabel. By the mid-1870s the boat was worn out. Railroads were beginning to compete effectively with river transport. In 1875 Mohave I was hauled out at Port Isabel, dismantled, and its machinery shipped to San Francisco to equip the Sacramento River stern-wheeler Onward (launched 1877; operated until 1909). It was succeeded on the Colorado by the larger Mohave II (launched 1876), the only double-smokestack steamboat on the river.

Ports of Call and Routes

Mohave I operated primarily on the lower Colorado River route, roughly 150–500+ miles depending on water levels and destination, from the river mouth/estuary northward. Cargo typically arrived by ocean-going schooners or steamships at the Gulf of California and was transshipped at or near Port Isabel (or earlier anchorages such as Robinson’s Landing) onto river steamers to avoid or manage Mexican customs issues and tidal hazards.

Principal ports and landings (approximate river miles above the mouth or relative to key points; distances varied with the shifting channel):

  • Port Isabel (Sonora, Mexico) and nearby estuary landings/anchorages (Robinson’s Landing, etc.): Southern terminus, shipyard, and transshipment point. Active as a key facility especially from the mid-1860s.
  • Fort Yuma / Arizona City (later Yuma), Arizona Territory / California: Major hub roughly 150 miles upriver. Military post, commercial center, and frequent stop.
  • Intermediate wood-yards and landings below and above Yuma (examples include Port Famine, Gridiron, Ogden’s Landing, Pedrick’s, and later sites such as Castle Dome Landing).
  • La Paz / Ehrenberg area (around 125–130+ miles above Yuma): Important mining and commercial points during the 1860s La Paz boom; freight rates for supplies and returning ore were significant.
  • Aubrey City / Bill Williams River area.
  • Fort Mohave / Hardyville / Mohave City area (roughly 300–310 miles from the mouth; Hardyville often served as low-water head of navigation for a period): Military post and transfer point for northern traffic.
  • El Dorado Canyon (southern Nevada area, ~365 miles from Yuma in the noted 1866 run): Mining district destination for freight and supplies.
  • Higher points such as Callville (Mormon settlement) were reached by Mohave I and other boats in high water periods in the mid-1860s, though not always regularly.

Wood-yards spaced roughly a day’s travel apart allowed overnight refueling. Downstream trips were much faster than upstream ones due to the current. The overall corridor stretched roughly 500 miles from the Gulf to upper mining camps when conditions permitted.

Mohave I helped open and sustain commerce in a remote desert region before railroads (notably the Southern Pacific reaching Yuma in 1877) gradually displaced river steamers as the primary freight mode. Its career illustrates both the ingenuity required to navigate the Colorado and the economic importance of steamboating to the early development of the Arizona Territory and adjacent areas.

Cochan – Colorado River Steamship

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The Cochan was the last stern-wheel steamboat operated by the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (CSNC) on the Colorado River, running from late 1899/1900 until about 1909–1910. Named for the Quechan (Yuma) people, it marked the end of commercial steam navigation on the lower Colorado after nearly six decades of steamboat activity that began in 1852.

View showing steamboat Cochan on the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona in 1900 - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
View showing steamboat Cochan on the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona in 1900 – U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Origins and Construction

By 1899, CSNC owners Isaac Polhamus and Jack Mellon faced aging vessels and renewed competition from newer boats (including the St. Vallier). Their remaining steamers, the Mohave II (about 23 years old) and the Gila (launched 1873 and already more than 25 years in service), had worn hulls requiring heavy maintenance. The Gila was selected because it retained better engines.

In late 1899, the Gila’s machinery was refurbished and installed in a rebuilt (or heavily reconstructed) hull at the shipyard in Yuma, Arizona, at a cost of roughly $25,000 (some accounts cite about $27,000). The vessel was launched on November 8, 1899, and renamed Cochan. It was two tons lighter and 14 feet shorter than the Gila.

Key specifications:

  • Displacement: 234 tons
  • Length: 135 feet
  • Beam: 31 feet
  • Draft: 11 inches unloaded; less than 2 feet (about 22 inches) when loaded with cargo
  • Cargo capacity: up to 125 tons of freight
  • Propulsion: stern paddlewheel driven by the refurbished steam engines from the Gila

The Cochan was a classic Western-river sternwheeler optimized for the Colorado’s difficult conditions—shifting sandbars, snags, swift currents, seasonal low water, and abrasive sand. Design priorities emphasized extreme shallow draft, a relatively flat or lightly built wooden hull reinforced against grounding and impacts, and reliable (rather than high-speed) power for towing barges. Sternwheel configuration aided maneuverability in confined or shallow channels and allowed techniques such as using the wheel to help dig through bars. These principles continued the adaptations that Colorado River boats had developed since the 1850s, prioritizing flotation and cargo-carrying ability in minimal water over ocean-style seaworthiness or deep-draft efficiency.

In 1900 the company also built a new barge, the Silas J. Lewis (about 150 feet long and 32 feet in beam), for the Cochan to tow, while scrapping older barges.

Operations and Role in Trade

The Cochan entered service in January 1900, carrying freight to mining districts such as the Quartette and Searchlight mines in Nevada and competing directly with the St. Vallier (and later the Searchlight). It operated primarily on the lower Colorado between Yuma, Arizona, and points upstream toward Needles, California, and mining areas, supporting the final phase of the region’s mining boom with supplies, equipment, ore, and passengers.

Steamboats like the Cochan remained important for expanding and sustaining trade along the Colorado long after the Southern Pacific Railroad reached Yuma in 1877. They provided the most economical means of moving bulk goods across the desert Southwest until rail lines fully displaced them. The Cochan and its contemporaries hauled freight for mines, helped supply irrigation and reclamation projects (including work related to the Imperial Valley and the temporary diversion that formed the Salton Sea), and maintained local commerce on stretches of the river still poorly served by rail. By the early 1900s, however, additional rail bridges (including the Arizona and California Railroad at Parker in 1905) and the completion of Laguna Dam in 1909 (about 14 miles above Yuma) progressively eliminated upstream navigation. By the end of 1905 most boats, including the Cochan, had been withdrawn to the Yuma area.

Steamer "Cochan" on Colorado River at Needles. The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Steamer “Cochan” on Colorado River at Needles. The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

End of Service

Just before Laguna Dam closed the river to steam navigation, the CSNC sold its remaining boats, including the Cochan, to the U.S. Reclamation Service in 1909. The Service had no need for the vessel, and it was dismantled in the spring of 1910 at Yuma. This marked the practical end of the steamboat era on the lower Colorado, which had facilitated thousands of tons of annual commerce since the 1850s.

Historical Significance

The Cochan embodied the final refinement of shallow-draft sternwheeler design for one of North America’s most challenging rivers. By recycling proven engines into a lighter, shorter hull with exceptional draft performance, its builders extended the economic life of river transport during a period of intensifying competition from railroads and dams. It supported late mining activity, early 20th-century reclamation efforts, and residual trade until infrastructure changes rendered steamboats obsolete. As the last major sternwheeler of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company, the Cochan closes a chapter in the transportation history of the American Southwest that had opened the desert interior to sustained commercial development.

Gila – Colorado River Steamships

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The Gila was a wooden-hulled stern-wheel steamboat (sternwheeler) of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company that operated on the lower Colorado River from 1873 to 1899. It was one of the most durable and successful vessels in the river’s steamboat era, known for its shallow draft that allowed it to navigate the river’s shifting sandbars, low water, and difficult stretches while carrying freight, passengers, mining equipment, and supplies.

Gila Steamboat at the Yuma Crossing Arizona, 1873.
Gila Steamboat at the Yuma Crossing Arizona, 1873.

Description and Specifications

The Gila measured approximately 149 feet in length with a 31-foot beam and a hull depth of about 3.5–3.8 feet. It displaced 236 tons and drew only about 16.5 inches of water when light (unloaded), making it exceptionally well-suited to the Colorado’s shallow, variable conditions. Cargo capacity was typically around 125 tons, and it frequently towed barges that significantly increased overall payload.

It was a classic Western river sternwheeler: a flat-bottomed or lightly built wooden hull powered by a stern paddlewheel, optimized for maneuvering in confined channels and over bars rather than for open-water speed or deep draft. Passenger accommodations included staterooms (limited in number) and a dining area, though conditions were often harsh due to extreme desert heat. Contemporary accounts, such as Martha Summerhayes’s description of an 1874 voyage under Captain Jack Mellon, note the intense heat that made staterooms nearly unusable during the day, forced passengers to sleep on deck at night with straw bedding, and left even metal utensils uncomfortably warm. Meals were basic (biscuits, salted beef, canned vegetables), and drinking water was cooled only marginally by hanging flannel-covered canteens in the shade.

The boat was built in San Francisco by shipbuilder Patrick Henry Tiernan, shipped “knocked down” (disassembled) to Port Isabel, Sonora (near the Colorado River’s mouth on the Gulf of California), and reassembled and launched there in January 1873 under the supervision of veteran Captain David C. Robinson. It was constructed specifically as a replacement for the aging Nina Tilden, an earlier vessel acquired by George Alonzo Johnson’s interests after the failure of a rival company.

Historical Context of Colorado River Steamboating

Steamboat navigation on the Colorado began in the early 1850s primarily to supply the isolated U.S. Army post at Fort Yuma (near the Gila River confluence). Overland freight from California was extremely expensive (often hundreds of dollars per ton). Early side-wheelers such as the Uncle Sam (1852) and General Jesup demonstrated the feasibility of river transport; later sternwheelers with shallower drafts proved far more practical. The Colorado Steam Navigation Company (and its predecessors under George A. Johnson) dominated the trade, establishing woodyards along the river (often worked by Cocopah laborers) so boats could refuel overnight rather than gather wood en route. Boats did not run at night because of the constant hazards of shifting sandbars and snags.

By the 1860s–1870s the route extended from the delta (Port Isabel and earlier landings) past Yuma/Arizona City upriver to points such as Ehrenberg, Hardyville, Fort Mohave, and eventually farther north during high water or special voyages. Freight included mining machinery, coal, supplies, and merchandise inbound, and ore, wool, hides, and other products outbound. Passenger fares varied by distance.

Service History of the Gila

Launched in early 1873, the Gila quickly became a workhorse of the fleet. It hauled freight and passengers on the main lower-river routes for more than 25 years and was frequently commanded by skilled pilots, notably Captain John “Jack” Alexander Mellon (sometimes spelled Melon or Mellon). Mellon had extensive experience on the river and was known for innovative techniques such as using the sternwheel to dig through sandbars when necessary.

A notable chapter began in 1879 after the Southern Pacific Railroad interests acquired control of the steamboat company. The Gila was chartered to Joseph Wharton, who had consolidated mining operations in Eldorado Canyon (Nevada). Under Mellon’s command it delivered machinery to the canyon and then, in a pioneering voyage in July 1879, successfully navigated the previously uncharted Boulder Canyon to reach the mouth of the Virgin River at Rioville (Utah/Nevada border area). This proved that the Virgin River confluence was the practical head of steam navigation on the Colorado—something earlier explorers and operators (including Johnson, Ives, and Trueworthy) had believed possible but had not fully achieved. Over the next eight years the Gila made about 22 trips up to Rioville to obtain salt needed for processing silver ore at the Eldorado Canyon mills.

Throughout its career the boat supported the region’s mining booms, military posts, and settlements. It operated in an era when steamboats were the most economical way to move heavy goods into the arid Southwest until railroads progressively undercut the trade (Southern Pacific reached Yuma in 1877, and later lines further reduced river traffic).

Ports of Call and Route

Operations typically began at the Colorado River Delta/Gulf of California area (transferring cargo from ocean vessels to avoid Mexican duties or navigate shallow tidal waters) and ran upstream through Sonora, Baja California Territory, California, Arizona Territory, and into Nevada. Key landings and ports associated with the Gila and the broader fleet included:

  • Port Isabel / estuary area (Sonora, Mexico): Assembly/launch site and southern terminal; early ocean-to-river transfer point.
  • Yuma (Arizona City / Fort Yuma area): Primary hub, shipyard/repair site after the 1870s, and major transfer point. The Gila is documented there frequently (including with barges).
  • Castle Dome Landing: About 35 miles above Yuma; served the Castle Dome mining district (lead ore, smelting).
  • Ehrenberg (earlier Mineral City) and nearby La Paz / Olive City: Major mid-river ports roughly 125–130 miles above Yuma; key for central Arizona freight and passengers connecting to stage/wagon roads inland. Regular stops for the Gila and sister boats.
  • Aubrey, Parker’s Landing, and intermediate woodyards/ranches: Wood fuel stops and minor landings.
  • Fort Mohave / Hardyville (later near Bullhead City area): Important northern low-water head of navigation (~310 miles above Yuma); ferry and freight transfer for northern Arizona and mines. The Gila made regular runs here.
  • Polhamus Landing (near Hardyville, established ~1881): Busy freight point in the early 1880s for mines and agencies.
  • Eldorado Canyon area (Nevada): Mining support, machinery delivery, and ore/bullion transport.
  • Callville: Mormon-founded landing; intermediate stop on upper runs.
  • Rioville (also associated with Bonelli’s Ferry; at the Virgin River confluence, now under Lake Mead): High-water head of navigation (~440 miles from Yuma/Fort Yuma area). The Gila reached it repeatedly 1879–1887 for salt cargoes.

Other occasional or fleet-associated stops included various woodyards, Drift Desert, California Camp, and points serving Indian agencies or temporary mining camps. Upstream travel was slower and more hazardous (days to a week or more depending on water levels and destination); downstream was faster with the current. High water (spring snowmelt) enabled farther upstream travel; low water restricted boats to shallower-draft operations and lower landings.

The Gila exemplified the ingenuity required to make commercial steamboating viable on one of the West’s most challenging rivers. Its long service life and role in extending navigation to the Virgin River marked it as a standout vessel in the Colorado River steamboat era.

Fate and Legacy

After roughly 25–35 years of continuous hard service (sources vary slightly on the exact phrasing of longevity), the worn Gila was rebuilt in 1899 at Yuma. Its machinery was refurbished and installed in a new or heavily reconstructed hull launched as the Cochan (sometimes given as 135 feet long with similar beam and a still-shallow draft). The Cochan continued working the river into the early 1900s, including support for Imperial Valley projects, until commercial steam navigation effectively ended with the completion of Laguna Dam (about 14 miles above Yuma) in 1909, which blocked the channel. Residual river traffic continued on a limited basis for a few more years.

The Gila is remembered as one of the most durable and capable boats on the Colorado—outlasting many contemporaries and playing a key role in extending reliable navigation northward and supporting the mining and settlement economy of the lower Colorado River corridor during its peak steamboat decades. Photographs from the period show it tied up at Yuma and other landings, often alongside barges that served as floating docks or additional cargo capacity.