Did the City/County of S. F. own/operate any tugboats in 1899?

Did the City/County own/operate a tugboat which was involved in the arrival of the California Volunteers from the Philippines on the transport Sherman on August 24, 1899?

-- Bill Trinkle (WJTrinkle@aol.com), April 22, 2001

Answers

This is called answering one's own question. It does not appear that the City/Co of San Francisco either owned or operated a tugboat in the 1899-1900 time frame. The City/Co did not control the Port at that time period. Instead a State agency the Board of Harbor Commissioners operated the Port. The Harbor Commission did own/operate tugboats. The California Blue Books at this general time period reflect the State Commission owning/operating 2 tugs. A detailed review of the listings of the S.F. Municipal Reports for 1899-1900 does not review any expenditure related to any boat or ship of any type during this time period. Even the smallest of expenditures are generally listed in this Municipal Reports. Also the City Directories, while also containing fairly detailed listing for the City/Co does not list any Department which at least identifiably operated a ship. Although not perfectly clear, the definition of a tug or tugboat or towboat at this time period may be somewhat different than is the common meaning at this time. Thanks to Ron F. for direction. This all is not an absolute answer, but the most likely result based on information discovered to date.

-- Bill Trinkle (WJTrinkle@aol.com), May 19, 2001.

Bill .. You might want to contact Crowley Marine's "Keeper of Historical Archives". Mr. Crowley operated "Red Stack Tug Lines" in the 30's ... maybe even the 20's. (My dad served Crowley himself aboard the Columbine.) At any rate, the folks there may be able to offer some direction.

Regards, D. Graney

-- Dan Graney (dgraney@compuserve.com), July 17, 2001.