SHIPWRECKS ON STEAMBOAT SLOUGH OF THE SACRAMENTO DELTA REGION      1848 TO 1900   Steamboat Slough Shipwrecks

References and research:  Newspapers of the period:  The Alta California, The Sacramento Union, the Sacramento Bee.; "Paddle Wheel Days in California" by Jerry MacMullen 1944; Delta King and Queen; "A Map and Record Investigation of Historical Sites and Shipwrecks Along the Sacramento River Between Sacramento City and Sherman Island" by the land Location and Boundary Section of California State Lands Commission, 1988; "Steamboats That Have from Time to Time Been Running from San Francisco to Sacramento", 1859, Hutchings; Chapter titled "Scenes along the Way" from Hutchings Yosemite book from 1862.and several other resources.  
  
     Steamboat Slough in 1848 was referred to as the "Middle Fork" or branch of the Sacramento River.  Other records show Steamboat Slough was preferred over the "old river" Sacramento River route because it was more than 8 miles shorter and several hours less travel by steamship.  Islands bordering the Middle Fork in 1848 were Sutter, Schoolhouse and Taylor.  However, due to hydraulic mining, by the late 1850's Steamboat Slough was less traveled by the larger steamers, yet still the preferred route for flat bottomed boats that would stop at the landings on  Steamboat Slough to pick up fresh produce and drop off building supplies like bricks. 
     By 1867, Taylor Island was renamed Grand Island, and Sutter and Priest Islands were combined into Ryer Island.  Schoolcraft Island was renamed to Sutter Island.  Due to the waterway and island name changes, careful attention must be paid to the exact years of the shipwrecks and the island names associated with the shipwreck at that time.  Note:  A natural island located about 4.5 miles north of the convergence of Cache and Steamboat as noted by Mr Ringgold starting in 1850, called "Hogsback Shoal", was sold by the state to G.W. Blake, a Sacramento area builder in 1878.  By 1935, Ryer Island levees had been improved, the zig zag sections of Steamboat Slough had been mellowed out, and land that may have been a portion of Hog's Back Shoal became part of the peninsula called "Martin's Island" and later "Snug Harbor" by the 1960's.
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The larger ships usually traveled through Steamboat Slough at night.  Author A.J. Hutchings wrote in 1862 of a daytime trip through Steamboat Slough, and he noted the signs of farming and "husbandry" along both sides of the slough, and the "Snug Little Cabins" tucked away behind the trees along the banks.  Logs kept by the State of California show there were at least 15 landings or ferry stops along Steamboat Slough between 1850 and 1880.