LiveCam at
Zion National Park . Utah
LiveCam at Bandon . Oregon
Sep
1
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In 1876, Mr. R D Hume, of Astoria, Oregon decided to move his commercial salmon fishing, processing and shipping to the mouth of the Rogue River. Hume anticipated huge profits due to the large run of “King” Salmon which entered the mouth of this river on their annual spawning migration.
The long and unique history of the Mary D. Hume started on a rough and windy day in Gold Beach when Mr. Hume’s small steamer “Varuna” sunk on the Togue River bar in 1880. Mr. Hume salvaged the steam engine and began immediate plans to replace his host freighter. Hume first located a 141 foot tall white Cedar tree 13 miles upriver on the north shore Rogue River shoreline. The tree was cut and floated downstream to what is now the Port of Gold Beach, within two hundred feet of where she sits today. This tree became the keel for the new vessel. White Cedar roots were cut for their natural curve to shape the ribs and Myrtle wood dowels were used to join ribs to keel. A severe flood January of 1881 almost destroyed the vessel during first construction. January 21, 1881 the new vessel Mary Duncan Hume was launched. (Named in honor of Hume’s wife) This day was the start of her 97 years of active commercial sea service. This is the longest active sea service for any commercial vessel on the Pacific Coast. Also unique in maritime history is the fact the Mary D. Hume has retrained her original name of registry from 1881 to present.
The Mary D. Hume served her first ten years as a coastal freighter hauling wood, canned salmon and other goods from the Oregon Coast to San Francisco. The peak of Arctic whaling was in 1890 during which time small steam sailing vessels were selling at premium prices. On December 5, 1889 the Pacific Whaling Company purchased the Mary D Hume for $25,000 starting a ten year career as an Arctic Whaling vessel. She recorded the largest catch of whale baleen, valued at $400,000 after a 29 month voyage. After that she made history with the longest recorded whaling voyage of 6 years. Numerous sailors died from scurvy, cold and lunacy cased by isolation. The dead bodies were stored frozen in ice until the spring thaw allowed burial on nearby Herschel Island. Her last whaling voyage was recorded in 1899 and on her return trip she was caught in a horrific storm which tore the whaling boast from the decks and washed two sailors overboard to their deaths in the frigid sea. She was retired to towing service on the Nushagak river in Alaska.
In 1909 the American Tugboat Company purchased the Mary D. Hume and fitted her as an ocean tugboat. In 1914 she was refitted with 10 Halibut dories for a brief career in the Alaska Halibut industry. This halibut voyage lost money and the Mary D. Hume soon returned to ocean towboat duty. She then served proudly as a tugboat under numerous owners for 60 years. Her final retirement was the summer of 1978, she sailed under her own power, into the Port of Gold Beach and her final resting place within a few hundred years yards of her birthplace.
An effort was organized to preserve the Mary D. Hume as a museum ship, but a mechanical failure caused her to slide into the mud at Gold Beach and an unrelated lawsuit over ownership of the vessel dissipated the funds of the Curry County Historical Society which had planned to restore the vessel. Even so, the Mary D. Hume is on the National Register of Historic Place. She has a rich history worthy of a feature film. It’s a shame she is left to rot away.
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