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W.T. Preston at Anacortes Maritime Heritage Center

98221 Anacortes, WA, United States of America (USA) (Washington)
Address 703 R Avenue
 
 
Floor area unfortunately not known yet  
 
Museum typ Exhibition
Navy / Watercraft
  • Steam engines/generators/pumps
  • Cranes and Lifts
  • Historic Engineering Landmarks

Opening times
 April, May, September, October: Saturdays 10am - 4pm; Sundays: 11am - 4pm
June, July, August: Tuesday to Saturday: 10am - 4pm; Sundays: 11am - 4pm
November to March: Closed

Admission
Status from 11/2020
 Anacortes Maritime Heritage Center: free
W.T. Preston Tour: Adults: $5, Seniors: $4; Children (5 - 16): $3
Contact
Tel.:+1-360-293-1915  eMail:coa.museum cityofanacortes.org  
Homepage
to Location / Directions
www.anacorteswa.gov/422/Maritime-Heritage-Center-and-the-WT-Pres
not in present exhibition
Our page for W.T. Preston at Anacortes Maritime Heritage Center in Anacortes, United States of America (USA), is not yet administrated by a Radiomuseum.org member. Please write to us about your experience with this museum, for corrections of our data or sending photos by using the Contact Form to the Museum Finder.
Location / Directions
N48.516170° W122.609057°N48°30.97021' W122°36.54342'N48°30'58.2129" W122°36'32.6049"
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County. on Fidalgo Island.

Anacortes is known for the Washington State Ferries dock and terminal serving Lopez Island, Shaw Island, Orcas Island, and San Juan Island, as well as Victoria, British Columbia (via Sidney, British Columbia) on Vancouver Island



W.T. Preston is located on the waterfront of downtown Anacortes next to the Great Northern Depot.

To reach the W.T. Preston and the adjacent Maritime Heritage Center, head north on Commercial and turn right on 9th Street. Head east two blocks to R Avenue. The W.T. Preston is at 703 R Avenue, adjacent to the Maritime Heritage Center.
Description

W.T. Preston Steamboat Tours

Step aboard this steamboat, and step into the past. The W.T. Preston was the last sternwheeler to work in Puget Sound and is one of only two snagboats remaining in the contiguous United States.

History

Her crews removed navigational hazards from the bays and harbors of the Sound and from its tributary rivers. The first settlements in the heavily timbered areas of Washington were located along rivers, which served as the region’s highways. On some of these rivers, snags threatened navigation and if not removed grew into larger logjams blocking passage of the boats. Shifting sand bars, particularly in delta areas, also obstructed navigation.

Steam-Powered Snagboats

The Skagit was the first of three steam-powered snagboats built to maintain the rivers, serving from 1885 to 1914, when she was replaced by the Swinomish. In turn, the Swinomish was succeeded in 1929 by the wooden-hulled W.T. Preston, named in honor of a distinguished civilian engineer who worked for the Seattle District Army Corps of Engineers.

Operation

The W.T. Preston operated as far north as Blaine and south to Olympia and Shelton. She worked 11 months out of the year, retrieving thousands of snags, piles, floats and other debris, including a damaged airplane, fish boats, derelict scows, and houseboats. In addition to her snagging chores, she was used as a pile driver and icebreaker, and dredged about 3500 cubic yards of material in an average year.

Wikipedia:
W. T. Preston is a specialized sternwheeler that operated as a snagboat, removing log jams and natural debris that prevented river navigation on several Puget Sound-area rivers. She is now the centerpiece of the Snagboat Heritage Center in Anacortes, Washington. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Built in 1929, she is one of two surviving snagboats built and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the only one on the American west coast.

The Army Corps of Engineers operated W. T. Preston out of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, in Seattle, Washington. This boat served the Puget Sound for more than forty years before the Army Corps retired her in 1981. Her replacement, Puget, still operates today out of W. T. Preston's previous dock at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.

Snagboat Heritage Center

W. T. Preston is now permanently dry berthed on the waterfront near Cap Sante, in Anacortes, Washington. The vessel is a National Historic Landmark and remains officially a designated city historic landmark in Seattle (her former location). The ship now operates as a history museum, and is owned and operated by the City of Anacortes' City Museum. In 2005, the Snagboat Heritage Center was built just north of W. T. Preston. This interpretive center houses artifacts, models, maps and other historical text and information about the snagboats that maintained the area's navigable waterways.

General characteristics

Displacement: 490 Gross Tons
Length: 163 ft 6 in (49.83 m)
Beam: 34 ft 8.5 in (10.579 m)
Draft: 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m)
Installed power: 180 psi (1,200 kPa) Firetube boiler
2 × 150 hp (110 kW) reciprocating steam engines
Propulsion: Sternwheel
Speed: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) (cruise) 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) (max)
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