Dispatch was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Coquille River on the southern Oregon coast from 1903 to 1920. The name of this vessel is sometimes seen spelled Despatch. This sternwheeler should not be confused with an earlier and somewhat smaller sternwheeler, also named Dispatch, that was built at Bandon, Oregon, in 1890, for which the 1903 Dispatch was a replacement. Construction Dispatch was built in 1903 at Parkersburg, Oregon by Charles Trigg. Dispatch was long, with a beam of and depth of hold of . The overall size of the vessel was 250 gross and 167 net tons. The official registry number was 200081 and the required number of crew was five. Dispatch was reported to have cost $18,000 to construct and was said to have been "one of the finest river steamers ever built in this part of Oregon". Owners For twenty-four years (1903 to 1927), Dispatch operated on the route on the Coquille River from Bandon to Coquille City. During this time, Dispatch was owned by the Coquille River Steamboat Company, the Farmers Transportation Company, and the Coquille River Transportation Company. On July 18, 1907, it was announced that the five steamers then operating on the Coquille River were to come under new management. A new corporation was to be formed with a capital stock of $50,000. C.J. McLean and H.G. Stratton, of Portland, and F.A. Smith, of St. Johns, were among those interested in the corporation. Liberty and Dispatch were to have new boilers, and Antelope would be overhauled. On July 17, 1914, Dispatch was owned by the Coquille River Transportation Company. On that date, Dispatch was advertised as departing Bandon daily at 7:00 a.m. Operations In 1903, Dispatch became one of a number of steamboats competing for freight and, especially, passenger business on the Coquille River. Three boats, Dispatch, Liberty, and Reta were then leaving Bandon each morning. Favorite left Coquille City in the morning for Bandon and returned to Coquille City in the evening. It was anticipated that Antelope, once fishing season ended, would be put on the Bandon-Coquille City run, making a total of five steamers daily operating on the route. Reta carried the mail so as to allow Dispatch to make better time. As of March 17, 1904, Dispatch, under Captain Thomas White, departed Bandon every morning except Sunday at 7:30 a.m., bound for Coquille City. Passengers could make connections