Remembering the USS Oregon

 The object below, from the Benton County Historical Society's collection may look utilitarian (and perhaps of little interest)  but it is part of a bigger story of something close to the hearts of many Oregonians in the first half of the 20^th century-- the Battleship Oregon.

 In 1890, as part of its efforts to modernize its fleet, the U.S. Navy contracted for three short-range battleships.  Two were built on the east coast for use in the Atlantic while the Oregon was built by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco for use in the Pacific.  The 351 foot long hull was completed on October 26, 1893.  Four coal-fired boilers provided steam for two “triple-expansion” steam engines which propelled the ship at a top speed of 16 knots (18.5 miles per hour). The object above was used to remove ashes from the boilers. A bucket was attached to the hook and the hoist chain lifted it away.

The Oregon was fitted out with four 13-inch guns in two center-line turrets plus eight 8-inch guns in four wing turrets and six 6 inch guns mid ship and 26 other guns. After all the work was completed, she was commissioned on July 15, 1896. A full crew consisted of thirty-two officers and 441 enlisted men.

The citizens of Oregon raised $25,000 through contributions of 10 cents each from school children and 25 cents from adults to purchase a thirty-piece engraved silver punch set for use on the ship.  It was presented to the officers on July 6, 1897.

In 1898, the Oregon was in Bremerton, Washington being retrofitted when the USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor.  As war with Spain loomed, the Oregon was ordered to the east coast. Thus began her voyage into history.  She stopped first in San Francisco to load ammunition and coal and then departed on March 19 on a 16,000 mile race around South America to join the eastern fleet. Americans eagerly followed her progress thanks to reports filed from the five ports where she stopped for coal. Sixty-six days later, on May 24, the Oregon reached Florida.   In spite of being without a full crew, finding only poor quality coal, and encountering a severe storm in the Straits of Magellan, the Oregon had set a speed record for a ship of this size.  Even so, the voyage demonstrated the need for an easier way to re-position ships and gave impetus to construction of the Panama Canal.

The Oregon joined the US fleet in blockading the Spanish ships in Cuba’s Santiago harbor.  When on July 3, the Spanish attempted to break through, the Oregon pursued, fired its thirteen-inch guns, and eventually forced the lead Spanish ship to surrender. The war, which had begun on April 25, ended with the signing of a peace treaty on August 12.

The ship then served in the Philippines, visited Japan, and patrolled off China during the Boxer Rebellion until being decommissioned in April 1906. In 1911, she was re-commissioned and used a training ship and made an appearance at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. During World War I, she escorted ships taking troops to Russia.

In 1922, the US Navy planned to decommission the ship and use it for target practice, but Oregonians petitioned to preserve the ship due to its historic role.  The Navy relented, declared the ship a “relic,” and loaned her to the state of Oregon. In June 1925, she was towed to a moorage in the Willamette River at the northeast end of Portland's Broadway Bridge and converted to a museum.

During World War II, the federal government reclaimed the ship for scrap metal.  Local interests succeeded in saving her foremast, funnels, and many of the items in the museum. The foremast was presented to the city at a waterfront dedication ceremony on July 1, 1944.  The ship's machinery was sold and oak from the living quarters was removed and fashioned into a cigarette box for President Roosevelt, gavels for governors, and plaques.  In addition, the wood was shaped into small souvenirs marked “Original Wood, Battleship Oregon 1896-1942” to be given to school children and other purchasers of government bonds.

After the Oregon had been stripped of valuable equipment and metals, the Navy decided to use it as a barge to carry munitions to Guam.  In 1956, the remaining hull was sold for scrap. The foremast is still on display in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland and the silver punch bowl is  part of the Oregon Historical Society's collection. 

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon