Leona (sternwheeler)

The steamship Leona operated from 1899 to 1912 on the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. This vessel was original launched under the name "McMinnville" in 1899, and should not be confused with an earlier vessel named "McMinnville", which ran on the Willamette River from 1877 to 1881.
Construction.
"Leona" / "McMinville" was built in 1899, at the shipyard of Joseph Supple at Portland, Oregon. The vessel was a sternwheeler driven by twin-single cylinder horizontally mounted steam engines.
Acquisition by Yellow Stack Line.
In 1901 the vessel was acquired by the Graham family, rebuilt and renamed "Leona". The Graham steamboat line, formally called the Oregon City Transportation Company, but also known as the "Yellow Stack Line". All the steamers of the line had names that ended in -"ona": "Latona", "Ramona", "Altona", "Leona", "Pomona", "Oregona", and "Grahamona".
Operations on Willamette River.
"Leona" ran on the Willamette River, including south of Willamette Falls.
Operations on the Lewis River.
In the early part of the 1900s, transportation on the Lewis River, a tributary of the Columbia River downriver from Vancouver, Washington, was dominated by the Lewis River Transportation Company, in which a prominent businessman Jacob Kamm was interested. By 1904, "Leona" was brought on as an opposition boat, which generated at least one favorable comment in the press at the time:
Loss by fire.
In 1912, "Leona" burned on the Lewis river near what is now the modern town of La Center, Washington. The wreck of the "Leona" is still visible on the Lewis River at low water during July and August. The wreck site is reported to be on the west side of the Lewis River bridge at La Center, Washington.
See also.
Steamboats of the Columbia River