Sarah Dixon was a wooden sternwheel-driven steamboat operated by the Shaver Transportation Company on the Columbia and lower Willamette rivers from 1892 to 1926.

[8] The vessel was equipped with electric lighting (then a novel feature on Columbia river boats[4]), and steam-powered steering gear and hoisting machinery.

[4] Sarah Dixon made the run downriver from Portland to the mouth of the Willamette River, a distance of twelve miles, in 47.5 minutes against a strong head wind.

[4] The Shavers included among their invited guests on the trial trip J.R. Beegle, the editor of the newspaper St. Helens Mist,[16] who a few days later, wrote an effusive review of the new steamer: "The Sarah Dixon is as neat and handsome a vessel as ever rode the Willamette or Columbia.

[17] Constant reference to tide tables was necessary when docked at the town, and if the steamer did not depart on time, it could be grounded in the mud flats, as happened at least once, on the morning of October 22, 1904.

[18] In 1893, Sarah Dixon advertised schedule was: departing Portland every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 a.m. bound for St. Helens, Kalama, Rainer, Oak Point and intermediate points, arriving in Clatskanie at 3:00 p.m.[19] On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Sarah Dixon would return to Portland, departing Clatskanie at 6:00 a.m.[19] This was advertised as the "nearest and most direct route to the Nehalem valley.

[23] The Shaver brothers, who were already losing $35 a day on the Clatskanie route, matched the Newsome fare cut, and adjusted their schedules, so that Sarah Dixon would arrive in Portland one hour ahead of Iralda.

[30] According to the editor of the Oregon Mist, a St. Helens newspaper, who was aways a booster for the boat, “[i] is too bad to wear out such a good boat in that business, but the Dixon is a good towboat just the same.”[30] In November 1895, Sarah Dixon was placed on a new route, the run from Portland to the Cascades, to take the place of the sternwheeler Dalles City which was then undergoing repairs.

[34] In November 1897, plans were being made to run Sarah Dixon on the Portland-The Dalles route for the White Star line under captain George W.

[37] Sarah Dixon was then reassigned to the Portland-La Center run to replace Mascot, which had recently sunk, until the latter vessel could be raised and repaired.

[39] The Sarah Dixon was described as “speedy and in every way adequate for upper river business” whereas “the Shaver is not so fast nor so easily handled.”[39] Over the years, Sarah Dixon carried numerous excursion parties to various locations, such as the Improved Order of Red Men to Multnomah Falls, scheduled for July 31, 1892[40] It was common in the 1890s for sternwheelers on excursions to lash alongside an unpowered barge to carry additional passengers, and this was planned for he excursion, scheduled for Saturday, July 30, 1892, to Martin's Bluff carrying the Knights of Pythias.

[41] In another example, on Tuesday, June 27, 1899, Sarah Dixon carried an excursion of about 300 people, members of the Trinity Sunday school, from Portland to St. Helens and bank.

Delmar Shaver, as a graduation gift, took the Alameda school classmates of his daughters, Ellen and Doris, permitted Sarah Dixon to be used on a trip from Portland down the Willamette river and up the Columbia.

[44] Sarah Dixon was struck on the left side opposite the boiler and several feet of the guard and the cabin structure were carried away.

[45] Even so, following a hearing on December 10, both captains, who were prominent steamboat men, were found to be at fault for violating the navigation rules, and their licenses were suspended for seven days.

[46] On night of Sunday, May 2, 1897, Sarah Dixon collided with the sternwheeler Governor Newell while passing through the draw of Burnside Bridge at Portland.

[47] On Sunday, August 14, 1898, as Sarah Dixon was proceeding east from Hood River, a 26-foot (7.9 m) sailing fishing boat with three men on board crossed the path of the steamer.

[48] In a subsequent contested court case, the finding was that the captain of the Sarah Dixon was not at fault, because the sailing vessel had turned unexpectedly, causing an unavoidable collision with the steamer.

[51] At 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 18, 1900, Sarah Dixon departed Portland bound for Stella, Washington to pick up a tow of boom sticks.

[52] At about 5:00 a.m. the next day, while proceeding downriver on the Columbia, Sarah Dixon struck the jetty opposite to Mount Coffin (near present-day Longview, Washington), sustaining a large hole in the bow.

[54] The outside cylinder timbers were smashed, a stern-wheel crank arm (called a “pitman”) was broken, the guards were badly damaged, as was the cabin structure.

[60] On November 5, 1896, Sarah Dixon was the first sternwheeler to pass through the newly completed Cascade Locks and Canal at the opening ceremony for the works.

James W. “Jim” Shaver made to Puget Sound to investigate purchasing a steamboat, but was unable to find one suitable for operation on the Willamette and Columbia rivers.

Teal running Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and Sarah Dixon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, both departing Portland at 7:00 p.m.[78] Wheat shipments had been accumulating at Celilo greater than could be carried by J.N.

[85][86] Work to raise Sarah Dixon began on January 21, 1912, with barges being placed along each side of the hull, and cables slipped under the wreck to lift it.

Albert Crowe, marine surveyor for the San Francisco Board of Underwriters, and Charles M. Nelson, manager of the Portland Shipbuilding Company, inspected the wreck of the Sarah Dixon.

[98] In mid-March 1912, the boiler and water tank of Sarah Dixon had been located downriver from Kalama, and Shaver Transportation Company was dispatching, on March 14, diver Fritz de Rock to aid in the recovery of these items.

[101] On June 4, 1913, reconstruction and a trial run having been completed, the rebuilt Sarah Dixon left Portland on its first commercial trip, to the Lake River to pick up a log raft.

[102] In June 1924, Sarah Dixon was hauled out at the Portland Shipbuilding Yard, at the foot of Nebraska Street, to undergo repairs and maintenance.

[111] According to another report, the hulk was towed up the Columbia River to Paterson, Washington, where it was left until the seams in the planking opened up and the boat sank.