Callendar Navigation Company
Callendar Navigation Company, sometimes called Callendar Transportation, was a river towing and freight business based in Astoria, Oregon. Started in the early 1900s, it became one of six major towing companies on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, alongside Shaver Transportation, Smith Transportation, Hosford, Knappton Towboat Co., and Willamette and Columbia River Towing Co.
The company was led by M.E. Callendar (president), Maxwell Ludwig "Max" Skibbe (vice-president), and Charles H. Callendar (secretary, treasurer, and general manager). In its early years, Callendar handled towing logs, freighting, and excursions, with a dock and wharf in Astoria at the foot of 14th Street (later known as the Brix pier).
Its fleet included steamers Melville, Jordan, Wenona, Vanguard, Eclipse, and the gasoline launch Queen, plus six barges with a total capacity of about 2,000 tons. In 1903, Melville was launched and later converted to an oil burner. Wenona, built in 1904, hauled logs and operated on the Grays River route before being sold in 1908. The company also leased the steamer North Star in 1902 for work at the mouth of the Columbia River, returning it in 1903.
Callendar served as an agent for several west coast steamship lines, including North Pacific Steamship Co., California & Oregon Coast Steamship Co., and E.A. Dodge & Company, providing passenger and freight service from Astoria to San Pedro. The fleet plus support vessels like the derrick barge Ida W. supported towing, logging, and other river work.
On July 1, 1922, Callendar Navigation merged with its rival, Knappton Towboat Co. The merged operation kept the Knappton name for the towing business, with Callendar’s dock and storage operations continuing under its own brand. At the time of the merger, Callendar Navigation operated Melville, Myrtle, Jordan, Ida W., an oil barge, and four lighters; Knappton Towboat Co. operated Knappton, Coquille, Electro, Defender, Myrtle, and two oil barges. The merged company was led by Henry M. Skibbe (Max Skibbe’s son) and Harry Flavel, with headquarters at the Callendar dock in Astoria.
Knappton Towboat Co. continued to operate under that name until 1990, when it was renamed Brix Maritime. In 1993, Brix Maritime became part of Foss Marine.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:36 (CET).