Island Transportation Company
US company
The Island Transportation Company was a shipping company that was briefly operational in Puget Sound from 1889 to 1900.
Formation and operations
The company was organized in April 1889 by Herbert F. Beecher, who had recently left the employment of the customs office, and others. The company purchased three smaller steamers, of the coastal or inland variety: the J.B. Libby, Point Arena, and General Miles. These vessels were employed in northern Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.
The company suffered a major reverse when J.B. Libby got fire on November 10, 1889, while transporting a cargo of lime from Roche Harbor. The vessel was a total loss, and while operations were resumed for a time with General Miles taking the place of the Libby, the company ceased operations some time in 1890, when Beecher took a job as a pilot for the U.S. revenue cutter service.
Notes
References
Newell, Gordon, R., ed. H.W. McCurdy Maritime History of the Pacific Northwest, Superior Publishing 1966.
The public source identifies “Island Transportation Company” as uS company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Island, Transportation and Company.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6083423. VIAF identifies the subject as 135326404. The Library of Congress control number is nr99023296. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1889, 1900, 1890 and 1966.
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This entry incorporates text from “Island Transportation Company” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.