An excerpt from "Early American Steamship Lines" by Frank J. Taylor [president, American Merchant Marine Institute, New York], a paper presented at the November 1943 meeting of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers: In October 1848, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company sailed its first steamship, the "California", from New York to San Francisco via Cape Horna remarkable feat, for steam navigation was just coming into its own at that time. It was just prior to this tht gold was diecovered in California and the United States had acquired possession of California and the northwest boundry of the United States was settled with a treaty with Great Britain covering the State of Oregon. Travel to the Pacific Coast was possible only by wagon or by water by way of Cape Horn or the Isthmus of Panama. It was some years later that a railroad to the Pacific Coast was completed. The opening of these new lands offered many opportunities to new settlers but the great distance across the western plains and the Rocky Mountains presented many difficulties and haardships. In order to facilitate transportation between the east and the west, Congress authorized the Secrretary of the Navy to negotiate contracts for the carriage of mails from New York to Oregon via the Isthmus of Panama. A contract was placed with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company at $199,000 per year, and following the first sailing of the "California" in October 1848, the "Oregon" sailed from New York on December 8 of the same year, to be followed later by the "Panama." The first voyages of these ships brought to the Pacific Coast materials necessary for the repair of vessels. Coal for the ships also had to be transported from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast for the operation of the vessels. The "Golden State" was built for the line in 1851, and in 1853 the "John L. Stephensd" was placed in the Panama Mail's service. Many vessels were sent around to the Pacific Coast from the Atlantic Coast to be operated there in conjunction with the ships operating from New York to Panama. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company prospered for a number of years. In 1867 the line commenced its Japan and China service with side wheel steamships. In 1873 it had constructed three new vessels with iron hulls that were named the "Colon," the "Acapulco," and the "Granada." These ships were 300 feet long, with a 40-foot beam. The following year, the line had the "City of Panama" and the "Guatemala," as well as the "City of Tokio" and the "City of Peking," the latter two for its China service. ---------------------------------- Just to confuse everyone ;-)) there was also "The Pacific Coast Steamship Company". There was a book written about this line titled "Ships and Narrow Gauge Rails, the Story of the Pacific Coast Company" by Gerald M. Best, Howell-North, Berkeley, 1964. >From the dust cover: "Here's the story of a fascinating rail-marine operation which blanketed the West Coast from Alaska to San DIego. It entails narrow gauge, standard gauge and steamships and was an important factor in the growth of the West." In 1865 " three San Franciscans, Charles GOODALL, his brother Edwin and Christopher NELSON bought the small steamer "Salinas" and several sailing vessels for trade along the west coast from Mexico to British Columbia. In 1867 they formed a company known as GOODALL, NELSON, & PERKINS, Agents, with U.S. Senator George C. PERKINS of California associated with the others in the business of coastwide trade. They soon became bitter rivals of Pacific Mail, and a feud between these two companies existed off and on for many years." In the beginning, Pacific Mail operated large ships while GN&P operated small ships. For a number of years they had vicious rate wars. In 1876, the GN&P won the rate war and reorganized as the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. In 1916 all the passenger ships of the PCSS were sold to the Pacific-Alaska Navigation Co., known as the "Admiral Line". After pruchasing the charter of two large steamers, the "Yale" and the "Harvard," the Admiral Line changed its name to Pacific Coast Steamship Co. "The depression of the 1930s took its toll of coastwise shipping, the Southern Pacific Railroad introduced fast, overnight freight service between San Francisco and Los Angeles, cutting deeply into the freight business of the liners, but the labor unions precipitated a series of disastrous strikes beginning in 1934, marking the end of coastwise passenger service by sea. The 1934 strikes were bad enough, but in the summer of 1936 a worse strike was brewing, and one by one, the ships were tied up in early September and their crews laid off for good. ----------------------------------- As a young man, my father frequently sailed on the PCSS from Moss Landing on Monterey Bay, either north to San Francisco or south to Los Angeles. I recently located a copy of an onboard newsletter that listed all the passengers on one ship that originated in Seattle and terminated in Los Angeles. It listed the passengers by port of embarkation and destination. Hope this helps, Anita C. Monterey County