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Infamous Arizona steamship captain

by The 100 Companies

Yuma’s most infamous steamship captain, Isaac Polhamus, was born almost two centuries ago – on April 27, 1828 – in Poughkeepsie, New York, where his father was a riverboat captain on the Hudson River.

At the dawn of steamship traffic on the mighty Colorado River, Polhamus was at the helm of The Colorado – a 120-foot, stern-wheel steamboat – tasked with delivering goods and materials (up to 70 tons of cargo at a time) to the United States Army Depot, now the Colorado River State Historic Park.

Polhamus, equally feared and admired, later captained the steamship Mojave, among others, during his extensive 50-year career.

– Hannah Van Sickle, The 100 Companies

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