The Willamette Queen Sternwheeler at sunset (Courtesy/Willamette Valley Hospice)
The Willamette Queen, an iconic sternwheeler boat that’s hosted birthdays and other gatherings on the Willamette River, is for sale.
Barbara Chesbrough, owner of the Willamette Queen, said she and her husband have been trying to sell the boat, docked in Riverfront Park, over the past year with no success. She said people from Independence and Newberg have expressed interest in buying the boat, priced at $800,000.
“So far, nobody has given me a check,” she said.
Chesbrough, 75, said she and her 80-year-old husband are getting too old to continue running the business. For 22 years, people dined on the boat as it glided along the Willamette River for weddings, birthday parties, or family reunions.
The Willamette Queen was built in Newport in 1990, designed as a scaled-down likeness of the former Mississippi and Yukon Territory Riverboats with paddles that propel the boat, according to the Willamette Queen website.
-Saphara Harrell
