SS Jubilee facts for kids
| History | |
|---|---|
| Canada | |
| Owner | Thomas Shorts |
| Builder |
|
| Launched | 22 September 1887 |
| Fate | Sank Winter 1889–1890 |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Beam | 8 ft (2.4 m) |
The SS Jubilee was an important steamship that sailed on Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. It was the second steamship owned and operated by Captain Thomas Shorts. He built the Jubilee with a carpenter named John Hamilton in 1887.
Contents
The Story of the SS Jubilee
Building a New Ship
Captain Shorts and John Hamilton built the Jubilee while they were waiting for a new part. They needed a new boiler for their first steamship, the SS Mary Victoria Greenhow. When the new boiler arrived, they decided to put it into the new Jubilee instead. The Jubilee was about 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. They also used the engine from the Mary Victoria Greenhow in the Jubilee.
The Jubilee was launched at the Okanagan Landing shipyard. This happened at 3:30 p.m. on September 22, 1887.
Life on the Lake
The Jubilee helped people travel and move goods around Okanagan Lake. Each round trip on the lake took about two weeks.
In 1889, people discovered gold on Granite Creek near the Similkameen River. This created more work for the Jubilee. To help carry more things, Captain Shorts built a special flat-bottomed boat called a barge. This barge worked with the Jubilee. However, the gold rush did not last very long. The barge was soon left on the shore.
The End of the Jubilee
The Jubilee's time on the lake was also short. During a very cold winter in 1889–1890, the ship got stuck in the ice at Okanagan Landing. It froze solid and then sank.
In the spring, after the ice melted, workers took the engine out of the sunken Jubilee. This engine was then put into Captain Shorts' new barge, which was called the City of Vernon.
A Machine's Long Journey
The engine from the Jubilee had a long and interesting life. After being used in the City of Vernon, it was moved to several other ships.
Later, around 1906, the engine was no longer used in boats. Instead, it was used in a shingle mill in Trinity Valley. There, it helped cut firewood.
Many years later, in November 1957, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Worth of Vernon, British Columbia, owned the engine. They had used it for a long time. They decided to donate this historic engine to the Vernon Museum and Archives. This way, its story could be remembered.
