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The M/V Leschi

Name Translation: Named for a Native American Cheif of the Nisqually tribe. Drawing courtesy of Johan Iverson.

The Leschi is shown here late in her career on Lake Washington.  She would soon become part of the WSF and take to salt water for the first time.  Author's collection.

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 assembeled twice--once at the yard, ath then again at Rainer 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 and emerged with new diesel engine and propeller, 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 back up 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-Edmond runs on Labor Day, 1967.      Retired and sold in 1969, the Leschi was converted into a cannery and moved up to Alaska.  Still afloat in 1980, by 1986 after being abandoned her wooden construction had finally succumbed to the elements, collapsing.  Today the remains of the Leschi lie mired in the mud near Valdez.      In an intresting side note, Cheif Leschi, whom the ferry was named after, was recently cleared in a "court of history" for any wrong doing.  The author was going to lobby for one of four new ferries being built to be named Leschi to honor the cheif once again, but the City of Seattle beat me to it.       The brand new fireboat scheduled to head to the Seattle waterfront early next year has been christened Leschi.  Ferryboat or fireboat, it is a fitting tribute.

The brand new Leschi goes to work in 1913. Courtesy of  PSMHS/MOHAI.

The Leschi didn't  look much like her paddle-wheel self by the 1940's.  Her outside staircase would be a distinguishing feature for much of her life.   Author's collection.

This is all that remains of the Leschi as of 2008.  Everyhing but the hull has fallen away.  She's located in Shotgun Cove outside of Whittier, Alaska.  Courtesy of micktravels.com

to the ENETAI RETIRED FLEET HOME

Welcome aboard!  WSF let passengers know a little about the vessel they were traveling on.  Behind the scenes the ferry with its dodgy hull and small capacity was of limited use for the system.  Still, she lasted until  1967.    Author's collection.