_{The venerable Lincoln on the Vashon run. Courtesy Capt. Raymond W. Hughes collection. Colorized by the author.}

BUILT: 1914, Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA, for King County on Lake Washington

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 212845

L/B/D: 147x 43 x 13, GROSS/NET TONS: 580/394 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: ?/32 cars

PROPULSION:  Steam powered, 800 hp.

NAME TRANSLATION: named for President Lincoln

FINAL DISPOSITION: Converted into a barge in 1955 by the Pacific Pearl Company of Alaska.  Out of documentation as of 1957, and likely scrapped at that time.

HISTORY

Few people today remember that at one time the only way to cross Lake Washington was by ferry.

Information on the Lincoln is scant.  Her years on Lake Washington seem to have been uneventful, though she did create solid memories for at least one passenger, Mr. Paul Gilmore who was kind enough to share his recollections: “I remember being on the Lincoln and my Dad taking me by the hand and looking down from the car deck at the engine room and being told the larger cylinder of the triple expansion steam engine was six feet in diameter.”

Built in 1914, the steam-powered ferry could handle about 45 cars. Unlike the paddle-wheel Leschi, built a year earlier, she was driven by single propellers at either end of the boat. With her large yellow stack belching black smoke, for the next 30 years she plied the waters of Lake Washington under heavily subsidized ownership from King County.

By 1940 she was out of work.  The Leschi continued on at Madison Park, but the new bridge idled the Lincoln. The next time the Lincoln saw use it was under remarkably different conditions.

In the late 1940’s it became increasingly clear that the State of Washington was going to get into the ferry business one way or the other. Captain Peabody had outfoxed the state after they’d revoked his franchise license to operate on Puget Sound by setting up a county-by-county charter service instead.  Only one group rebuked Peabody’s efforts: Vashon Island.

Creating their own ferry district in 1948, the dilapidated Lincoln was brushed off and placed in service between Vashon and Fauntleroy.

Passengers boarding the Lincoln were painfully aware the ferry had seen better days:  daylight glistened through walls and floorboards. The foaming waters of Puget Sound could be seen through cracks in the deck. However, she provided a much-needed service and performed admirably despite her advanced age. She was replaced by the Crosline as soon as that ferry had been reconditioned and rebuilt into a double-ender.

Three years later it was all over. Washington State Ferries began operations on June 1, 1951, and with their formation more suitable boats were assigned to the route.

The venerable Lincoln, which was listed as part of the assets of Washington State Ferries in 1951, was never put into service again. WSF sold her as early as the fall of 1951, reportedly for scrap.  The Seattle Times posted a photo in 1952 with the caption that the ferry was being converted for a cannery in Alaska.

Merchant Vessels of the United States has the ferry as King County property until 1955, when her owner is listed as Pacific Pearl of Alaska Inc.  In the 1957 listing, the vessel is noted as being out of documentation. 

Ferryboats: A Legend on Puget Sound lists her as abandoned in 1957; this would jive with the listing for Merchant Vessels.

What is certain, the old ferry was quickly forgotten.  Even today, few people remember the old Lincoln, a ferry that had once been a familiar sight on Lake Washington.