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For more than a century, Shaver Transportation has been a key player in the tug and barge business on the Columbia–Snake River System. In 1880 George Washington Shaver and partners founded People's Freighting Company. The first vessel was the steamboat Manzanilla, which they sailed on the Willamette and Columbia rivers between Portland and Clatskanie, Oregon. In 1893 Shaver Transportation was incorporated by George W. Shaver and sons James W. Shaver and George M. Shaver. Their next two steam-powered sternwheelers were the George W. Shaver and the Sarah Dixon, named for his wife. Shaver soon shifted away from transporting people and cargo in favor of barge towing, and the fleet grew to seven tugs by 1914.
By 1950, Shaver Transportation had two-dozen steel-hulled diesel engine tugs. Log towing was a large portion of the business during these years. In addition, Shaver established itself in ship assist work in Portland’s booming harbor and in ocean towing up and down the coast from Alaska to the Panama Canal.
The Shaver family still remains at the helm. Harry L. Shaver is the Chairman of the Board, his son, Steve Shaver, is President, and his daughter, Samantha Shaver, is a member of the Board. The company currently has about 90 employees. Today, Shaver Transportation focuses on three lines of business: ship assist, grain barging and harbor/specialty towing.
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The wooden-hulled Henderson was used in the film Bend of the River in 1952, which was filmed in Oregon and on the Columbia River, starring James Stewart, Rock Hudson and Julia Adams.
Photo provided by Universal Pictures.
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