Before highways reached the Oregon coast, ferries worked the rivers connecting inland rail stations to cities at the beach.
The railroad from the Willamette Valley to the central Oregon coast ended in Yaquina City, four miles east of Newport, so rail passengers took the river ferry “Newport” the rest of the way. The ferry averaged 50,000 passengers a year, according to the Newport Journal newspaper.
The Newport was built in 1908 and by 1914 its steam engine was replaced by a 110-horsepower gasoline engine, cutting travel time between Yaquina City and Newport by about half.
Until the 1920s, no railroad or highway reached Newport so steamboats or gasoline launches did the transportation work between the railhead at Yaquina City and other points on the river and bay. This changed rapidly as modern roads began to be built in the 1920s.
The major coast road, called the “Roosevelt Highway,” was complete to Newport by June 1927. River service to and from Yaquina City from Newport did not last much longer after that, ending in 1929, when roads eventually connected Newport and Yaquina, and the boat route was replaced by a bus line.
The ferry Newport was dismantled in 1929 after 21 years of service.
The ship’s wheel was donated to the Lincoln County Historical Society in 1983 and is currently on display at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center.
The Bayley house, which burned down in the 1920s, is visible on the far right of the main photo above taken in 1908. The building that today houses the maritime heritage center rests on the original foundation of the Bayley house.
- Historical photos and text provided by the Lincoln County Historical Society in a partnership with YachatsNews. To learn more about the society and local history, visit its website here. A sampling of historic images from the LCHS collection can be seen at OregonDigital.org
