Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Lighthouse Tender Photo Archive

Oleander



Call sign (1927):
George - Vice - Nan - Dog


Oleander served both the U.S. Lighthouse Service and U.S. Army

River Tender:

  • Built in 1903 by Iowa Iron Works, Dubuque, Iowa
  • Commissioned 23 January 1903
  • Decommissioned 23 April 1928 and transferred to the War Department
  • Acquired in 1930 by Captain Russell Warner and stripped off the cabin. The steel hull was eventually acquired by the Ohio River Co. and used at Huntington, WV as a coal fueling barge with a steam hoist
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 548 t.
  • Length 188' 6"
  • Beam 34'
  • Draft 7'
  • Complement 29 (1907)
    1927 - 22
  • Propulsion: Two Hopkinds combined tubular and water-tube coal-fired boilers, two 300hp Baldwin-Vulclain horizontal compound steam engines, one stern paddle wheel.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Oleander 125k Photo from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Library John Spivey
    Oleander 92k Interior of Oleander just before President Taft came aboard for his 1909 inspection trip. The first door on the left leads to President Taft's room
    Photo from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Library
    Oleander 95k Photo from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Library
    Photo added 4 June 2021
    Coast Guard History: The first Oleander was a steam-powered, stern paddle wheel river tender with a steel hull and deck and wood upperworks. She was built by the Iowa Iron Works of Dubuque, Iowa, for use on the upper Mississippi River. She was commissioned on 23 January 1903. She was based out of St. Louis.

    She was decommissioned on 23 April 1928 and was transferred to the War Department.

    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Lighthouse Tender Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History