The ferry was christened Fresno by Miss Shirley Harding, daughter of Southern Pacific's engineer of standards.

During a storm in January 1932, Fresno was disabled when heavy seas shorted the electrical power plant on an evening bay crossing from San Francisco to Oakland.

The ferry was christened Lake Tahoe by Miss Helen Dyer, daughter of Southern Pacific's general manager.

The tug Commissioner towed this ferry out of San Francisco Bay on 10 August 1940 bound for Puget Sound.

[3] This ferry was built as Redwood Empire to inaugurate Northwestern Pacific service across the mouth of San Francisco Bay.

The tug Commissioner towed this ferry out of San Francisco Bay on 10 August 1940 bound for Puget Sound.

The decision closed the Port Townsend-Keystone route until WSF began to operate the high-speed passenger-only ferry Snohomish on November 23.

[8] During November and December, the Snohomish was removed from this route and began a new interim service between Seattle and Port Townsend.

During this time, WSF got a third party to operate a passenger only service on the Port Townsend-Keystone route, using a much smaller whale watch boat.

[citation needed] All four of the ferries were berthed at the system's main storage facility in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island.

On February 14, 2008, Governor Gregoire signed Senate Bill 6794[10] into law that authorized the construction of replacement ferries.

However, in early April 2008 the state rejected a bid of $26 million to build a ferry based on the Steilacoom II design.

Reasons cited for the rejection was the bid being $9 million over the state's estimate, the requirement that the shipbuilder complete the ferry within one year or face stiff daily fines and changes to the specifications that included improved safety, security and quality.

The design of these ferries is based on the MV Island Home, a vessel that serves the Martha's Vineyard run.