She was a coastal steamship built in 1907 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., GOVERNOR could make 15.5 knots and carry 566 passengers. She was built for Pacific Ocean coastal service along with S.S. CONRESS  and S.S. PRESIDENT, serving cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Victoria.

She was a 417 ' in length and a beam of 48' and draught of 22'. Depth of 37'. 

On April 1, 1921, while bound from San Francisco to Seattle, she was struck by the USSB WEST HARTLAND at Puget Sound. Thanks to WEST HARTLAND'S Captain ordering full speed ahead, the WEST HARTLAND kept her position, keeping the hole plugged and allowing the GOVERNOR'S crew and passengers to jump aboard her. She sank in under 20 minutes with the loss of only eight people.