S.S. SAN MATEO
historic place
The S.S. SAN MATEO was a significant steamship ferry in Seattle's King County. Built in San Francisco in 1922, she operated in San Francisco Bay until 1940. In 1941, the Puget Sound Navigation Company acquired her, bringing her to Puget Sound. The S.S. SAN MATEO served various routes, including Seattle-Suquamish and Kingston-Edmonds, until her retirement in 1969. At that time, she was the last operating vehicular steam ferry in the United States. Her final run was from Edmonds to Kingston on Labor Day 1969. The S.S. SAN MATEO was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 7, 1971. After retirement, she was towed to Lake Union in Seattle for planned museum restoration, with efforts continuing intermittently for about thirty years. In 1992, she moved to the Fraser River in British Columbia, where portions of her hulk remain visible. The S.S. SAN MATEO is historically important as the last steam-powered auto ferry to operate in the United States.