Eva was owned by the Umpqua River Steam Navigation Company, of which Oscar B. Hinsdale (1867–1918) was a principal, as was W.F. Jewett. Hinsdale was a businessman and a prominent citizen of Gardiner, Oregon, who was also connected with the Gardiner Mill Company. Capt. N.J. Cornwall (b.1855) was also interested in the navigation company and as of 1895 was also in command of Eva.
From 1876 to 1916, the Drain-Coos Bay stage line provided for travellers from Drain, Oregon to proceed by stage coach to Scottsburg, where they would meet a steamboat to proceed down the Umpqua river. Eva and other steamboats on the river provided an important link in the line by providing riverine Service between Scottsburg and Gardiner, Oregon.
During the year 1896, Eva carried 2,600 passengers and 1,000 tons of freight. Passenger traffic declined for Eva in the 1898 fiscal year, with the boat carrying 2,050 passengers. Freight traffic was up however to 1,500 tons carried.
Starting in about 1898, Frank Sagabird was the Engineer of the Eva and held that position until the boat was retired from active Service in April 1916. His brother Capt. Henry Sagabird was also a master of Eva for over ten years, starting in about 1906 and continuing, like his brother, until the boat was withdrawn from Service.
A few days prior to July 17, 1900, Eva was transporting a circus from Australia. The circus had come up the coast from California by wagon to Gardiner, Oregon. At Gardiner, the circus was loaded onto a scow, and then towed upriver by the steamer Eva. On board the scow were three men, eight horses, four wagons, a tent, and much circus equipment. After a few miles, the scow suddenly sank in 15 ft (4.57 m) of water. The men and five horses survived, but all the rest went down with the scow. Part of the circus property and a span of mules were on board Eva, and these were taken back to Gardiner to regroup.
On August 27, 1903, it was reported that a delay in delivery of a cylinder for Eva had required Juno to work double Service on the Scottsburg run for the previous two weeks.
During the year 1904, Eva carried 5,847 passengers and 2,500 tons of freight.
On April 9, 1908, near Scottsburg, Eva hit a snag and sank. Eva was carrying mail and passengers at the time. The boat was beached. Everyone on board was able to get off. Passengers and mail were transferred to another vessel. Eva was to be raised and then brought to Gardiner for repairs.
Oscar Hinsdale, one of the owners of Eva, also owned a general store, which sold dynamite for stump-blasting purposes. Although regulations forbade the carrying of dynamite on Passenger steamers, Hinsdale had boxes of dynamite relabeled "bacon" and shipped them to his store's customers on Eva. An informant alerted authorities to this, and Hinsdale was arrested in November 1909, at which time he "vehemently denied" having anything to do with shipping dynamite on the Eva. Hinsdale however pleaded guilty on October 7, 1910, in United States District Court, and was fined $50. Half of the fine was to go to the informant. This was the first such prosecution on the west coast, and it attracted national attention.
On November 15, 1915, it was reported that when Eva was transporting passengers across the Umpqua river, from one beach to another, the boat became caught in the tide near the mouth of the river. The current was running very strongly on the south beach, it picked up Eva, made the boat unmanageable, and carried the vessel across to the north spit, where the boat was grounded at about 4:30 in the afternoon. Eva blew the steam whistle to signal for help, and the crew of the Umpqua River Coast Guard Station responded, taking the passengers off the boat and back to the station.
In the week of September 14, 1917, the Umpqua River Steam Navigation Company formally surrendered Eva's license, and sold the boat to the Umpqua Improvement Company, which began the process of dismantling Eva and converting the vessel into a scow.
