In 1864, which was reported to have been a good year for business in the Washington Territory, three entrepreneurs named Donohue, and Captains William Kohl, and Alexander P. Ankeny, formed the Washington Territory Transportation Company.

[1] In a non-contemporaneous source (1895) Cascade was reported to have been the first sternwheeler with a wheelhouse, which was an innovation by engineer John Gates.

[1] Cascade arrived at Portland, Oregon on September 5, 1864, and immediately began a refit, making a trial trip on January 23, 1865, with Captain Van Bergen at the wheel.

[3] The portage railroad connected at the top of the Cascade Rapids with the steamer Oneonta, which would then carry passengers and freight east upstream to The Dalles.

[3] From The Dalles, another portage railroad skirted the Celilo Rapids to connect with steamers that carried traffic further upriver to Wallula, Washington Territory.

[5] The rebuilt vessel would differ from other steamboats in that the aft part of the cabin would be open to allow passengers a better view of the passing scenery.