Wm. H. Aspinwall

Yet, for all the promise it holds, exploration often means striking out on one's own in the face of considerable skepticism. And this was the case when Pacific Mail's founder, William Henry Aspinwall, successfully bid on a government mail contract extending from Panama to Oregon.

A "Harebrained Adventure" Begins

In 1848, as a result of treaties with Mexico and Britain in the 1830s and '40s, the western boundary of the U.S. stretched along the Pacific Coast from Puget Sound to San Diego. According to President Polk, "mail facilities, so indispensable for the diffusion of information and for building together the different portions of our extended Confederacy, should be afforded to our citizens west of the Rocky Mountains."

Since the goal was to achieve a fast, reliable means for delivering the mail, the government contract mandated the use of steamships. Steamers were to call on East Coast and Gulf ports in the U.S., then discharge their valuable cargo on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama. Mules and canoes would then carry the cargo to the Pacific Coast of the Isthmus, where it would be held until the next northbound steamer departed.

Despite the arduous route, the plan was far superior to traditional means of transporting cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of the U.S. Still, the endeavor involved substantial risk. With a tiny population base of 20,000 scattered over 2,000 miles, the West had no coal, no means for supplying or maintaining steamers, and only rudimentary port facilities.

"It is a wonder that so steady a businessman as William Henry Aspinwall would engage in a harebrained adventure that will surely end in disaster!" asserted one critic. But Aspinwall persevered, and he was rewarded when his steamer SS California was the first vessel of its kind to arrive in San Francisco after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill.

Click on map to see a larger version.

A Forward-Thinking Style

In fact, Aspinwall proved to be a visionary for his time. He immediately took steps to improve on the trans-Panama route. In the early 1850s, he worked to construct a railroad crossing the Isthmus - an idea that was regarded as outlandish in the 19th century - then used it in conjunction with his growing fleet of vessels. The integration of ship and train schedules was a groundbreaking concept at the time, and can be considered an early example of intermodalism in North America.

As a result of Aspinwall's forward-thinking style, Pacific Mail's fleet expanded to 23 ships, and the company quickly outpaced its competitors. Until the late 1860s, Pacific Mail and the Panama Railroad were the two most profitable corporations in the U.S., often paying dividends as high as 30 percent. And, for a time, the city in Panama which is now known as Colón was called Aspinwall.

At about the same time, Pacific Mail's wisdom was called into question when the company was successful in its bid for the first mail contract to Asia. Newspapers of the day claimed the plan was "a leap in the dark," wild speculation to bolster Pacific Mail's stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

	The Colorado

But on January 1, 1867, the company's steamer Colorado sailed from San Francisco for Japan, inaugurating the first regular trans-Pacific service to Yokohama and Hong Kong. For many years following the Civil War, Pacific Mail provided the only service between the United States and the Far East and contributed greatly to the future of trans-Pacific trade.

Robert Dollar

Facing a New Century

The 20th century brought with it many new opportunities, especially in trans-Pacific trade. Pacific Mail became Dollar Line in 1925, and its new owner, San Francisco lumber tycoon Captain Robert Dollar, embarked on a different kind of exploration.

	Click on image to see a larger version, or here to see another page from the booklet.

Dollar, a pious Scotsman who had made his fortune in lumber, had entered the shipping business out of sheer exasperation. Erratic shipping schedules had prevented Dollar from delivering his lumber on time, so he purchased his first schooner in 1895 to gain control over the transportation of his shipments. Soon, his vessels were transporting lumber to Asia, and he became convinced that the Pacific was destined to become the center of world trade.

After acquiring Pacific Mail, Dollar worked tirelessly to focus the attention of North America's business leaders on emerging markets in Asia - and was even successful in persuading a group of diverse industry leaders to contribute to a booklet he called "Have You Investigated the Oriental Market for Your Product?" He took the idea of global commerce even further by purchasing land and building offices in Asia in the late 1920s, effectively breaking ground on what is now APL's extensive Asia office network.

Throughout these years, APL and its predecessors also afforded others the opportunity to explore. From carrying fifty Peruvian gold miners on the California to transporting the thousands of immigrants who followed, the ships belonging to APL and its forebears have been the first step for generations of families seeking a promising future in America.

Exploration Today

And after 160 years of exploration - of maiden voyages, of plying uncharted waters to reach new markets - APL is still connecting people and products. Now a truly global transportation provider, the company continues to add to its expansive network in areas like Latin America and Europe.

Today, APL's ultramodern transportation system links more than 25,000 points in over 140 countries. And every minute of every day, an extensive fleet of containerships progresses toward ports of call around the world - a fitting testament to the wisdom and spirit of exploration displayed by the founders of what is now APL.

To learn more about APL's history in the 20th century - the people and events that figured into the emergence of the modern APL - continue to Innovate.