Virginia V, Historic steamship at Lake Union Park, Seattle, United States
The Virginia V is a wooden-hulled steamship built by Anderson & Company of Maplewood, Washington, and launched on 9 March 1922. Its steam engine was taken from the earlier Virginia IV and installed in Seattle. The ship is now a National Historic Landmark and museum vessel moored at Heritage Wharf in Lake Union Park, Seattle.
Built by Anderson & Company of Maplewood, Washington, of local old-growth fir, Virginia V was launched on 9 March 1922 and towed to Seattle, where the engine taken from Virginia IV was installed. On 11 June 1922 she made her maiden voyage from Elliott Bay to Tacoma along the West Pass, a run she kept almost daily until 1938. A Pacific storm on 21 October 1934 wrecked her upper decks at Olalla; rebuilt at Houghton, she returned to service on 5 December 1934.
The ship carried Camp Fire Girls and other young people to summer camps on nearby islands from the 1920s through the 1960s, shaping how generations experienced the water. This role made it a familiar sight to families and youth groups across the region.
The ship is moored at Heritage Wharf in Lake Union Park, at the foot of Terry Avenue North. Access to the decks is via stairs and gangways, and the surfaces are uneven, as on any wooden vessel of this age. Sailing excursions depart from the same wharf; check the foundation's schedule before visiting.
The ship is the last remaining wooden-hulled steam-powered passenger vessel from the original Mosquito Fleet still operating on Puget Sound. Its survival and continued operation offer a working example of early 1900s steamship technology and maritime craftsmanship.
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