LESCHI

BUILT: 1913, J. F. Duthie & Company, Seattle, WA.

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 211875 CALL SIGN: WH6752 

L/B/D: 170 x 50 x 9 GROSS/NET TONS: 336/228 PASSENGERS:/AUTOS: 453/40

PROPULSION: Originally steam paddle wheel. Rebuilt as diesel, 560HP.   SPEED: 10 knots

NAME TRANSLATION: named for the chief of the Nisqually tribe.

FINAL DISPOSITION: Blown ashore in a storm, 1978; abandoned.  Hulk still is on the beach and visible in Shotgun Cove, Alaska as of 2014.

HISTORY

The Leschi was built in 1913 on Seattle’s East Waterway for service across Lake Washington.  She was built with large side paddle wheels instead of a propeller, and she had to be assembled twice—once at the yard, and then again at Rainier Beach where the superstructure was added—there were no locks in those days.  For 18 years she ran between Leschi Park in Seattle to Bellevue and Medina on the east side of the lake.

She went into the yard for an extensive rebuild in 1931 and emerged with a new diesel engine and propellers, but to save money her exterior was not extensively rebuilt.  Her outside staircase from the car deck to the passenger cabin remained her entire career, and it is one of the easy ways to spot the Leschi in old postcards.  The Leschi continued on Lake Washington even after the first floating bridge was completed in 1940.  Her days were numbered, though, and she finally was retired from lake service in the summer of 1950.

Still at work for the King County Ferry District, she was moved to salt water for the first time and was put to work on the Vashon-Fauntleroy run. The route was combined with state ownership in 1951. Under WSF, she moved up to the Mukilteo route, taking over for the Bainbridge which had been retained by Puget Sound Navigation.  For ten years she worked as the backup ferry for the route, with the Chetzemoka and Olympic.

After winter lay-up in 1961 and the freeing of the Rhododendron for the Mukilteo route, the Leschi went back to work at Vashon. She worked this route for three years before returning to Mukilteo, finishing out her career on the Kingston-Edmonds run on Labor Day, 1967. Her final day of service came Palm Sunday, 07 April 1968, on the Edmonds-Kingston route.*

Retired and sold in 1969, the Leschi was converted into a cannery and moved up to Alaska.  After being moved to Shotgun Cove, she blew ashore in a gale and was later abandoned.  Over time, her wooden construction finally succumbed to the elements, collapsing.  Today the remains of the Leschi lie on the beach near Whittier.

In an interesting side note, Chief Leschi, whom the ferry was named after, was cleared in a “court of history” for any wrongdoing. The author was going to lobby for one of four new ferries being built to be named Leschi to honor the chief once again, but the City of Seattle beat me to it.

The new Seattle fireboat has been christened Leschi. Ferryboat or fireboat, it is a fitting homage.

• *Courtesy of Rex Carlaw, who was witness to the last day of service.