Before modern roads and the automobile, the most common form of travel on the Puget Sound was by small passenger steamboat. With hundreds of boats in service visiting over 200 different docks, there was fierce competition between ferries, and your commute to work might involve a steamship race, crash or a fist fight.

After 100 years of operation on Puget Sound, only one passenger steamship remains: the SS Virginia V. Historian Ed Brown tells the story of the steamship, as well as the history of the Mosquito Fleet.

Ed Brown is the head docent of the Steamer Virginia V Foundation. A lifelong Washington resident, Ed specializes in the fascinating, wild history of the Mosquito Fleet. Ed is also a lead deckhand and tour guide aboard the SS Virginia V.  

Enjoy 15% off your hotel stay on History Pub nights! Show your ticket at check-in.

These events are open to everyone interested in Pacific Northwest history, and beyond! Often co-sponsored by local or state historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers, historians and documentaries expounding on topics from indigenous history to the birth of Portland, early explorers to hop growing, and on and on! It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp