''North Star'' was a sternwheel steamer that operated in western

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

and southeastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

on the

Kootenay Kootenay, Kootenai, and Kutenai may refer to: Ethnic groups *The Kutenai, also known as the Ktunaxa, Kootenai, or Kootenay, an indigenous people of the United States and Canada **Kutenai language, the traditional language of the Kutenai **Ktunaxa ...

and Columbia rivers from 1897 to 1903. The vessel should not be confused with other steamers of the same name, some of which were similarly designed and operated in British Columbia and the

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Design and construction

''North Star'' was built by Louis Pacquet, a shipbuilder from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, for Capt.

Frank P. Armstrong Francis Patrick Armstrong (circa 1859–1923) was a steamboat captain in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. He also operated steamboats on the Kootenay River in Montana and on the Stikine River in western British Columbia. Steam navi ...

(1859-1923). Armstrong ran sternwheelers on the Kootenay and Columbia rivers under the name of the

Upper Columbia Navigation and Tramway Company Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found f ...

("UCN&T"). Armstrong's domination of the Kootenay River steamboat business was threatened by the construction of another new steamer, the ''J.D. Farrell'' by the Kootenay River Navigation Company, a firm with financial backing from

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

business interests. ''North Star'' was technically owned by American subsidiaries of the UCN&T, first the Upper Kootenay Navigation Company and then the International Transportation Company.Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 22, 24, 37, 42, 67, 249, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966

Operations on Kootenay River

In June 1897 ''North Star'' started making runs from Jennings, Montana up the Kootenay river to Fort Steele, BC, where significant mining activity was occurring. The route ran through the dangerous stretch of Jennings Canyon where most of the sternwheelers on the upper Kootenay eventually were wrecked or seriously damaged. In April 1898 ''North Star'' was likewise wrecked in the Canyon. Armstrong was able to raise the vessel and return her to service. (Most of the Jennings Canyon has now been submerged by the waters behind

Libby Dam Libby Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the northwestern United States, on the Kootenai River in northwestern Montana. Dedicated on it is west of the continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the dr ...

Joint operations with Kootenay River Navigation Company

During 1898, Captain Armstrong and Captain M. L. McCormack, manager of the Kootenay River Navigation Company, combined their efforts on the upper Kootenay, with the Armstrong boats ''North Star'' and ''Gwendoline'' receiving 60% of the freight receipts, with the balance to McCormack's single boat ''J.D. Farrell.'' In October 1898 railroads were completed in the Kootenay region, and traffic quickly shifted over to the railways, leaving the steamboats without business. ''North Star'' was laid up at Jennings, Montana with other upper Kootenay river sternwheelers until 1901, when the A. Guthrie Co. put them back in service to transport supplies for construction of the extension of the Great Northern Railway to Fernie, BC. In the fall of 1901, the railway construction was complete, and ''North Star'' and the other steamboats were laid up again.Downs, Art, ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers'', at 108-09, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1972

Transit of Baillie-Grohman Canal

In October 1901 Captain Armstrong bought out the minority interest that Captain James D. Miller (1830-1914) had held in ''North Star''. (Miller had also acted as captain of ''North Star''.) With steamboat business on the upper Kootenay essentially nonexistent, in 1902, Armstrong decided to bring ''North Star'' through the

Baillie-Grohman Canal The Baillie-Grohman Canal was a shipping canal between the headwaters of the Columbia River and the upper Kootenay River in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia at a place now known as Canal Flats, BC. The construction of the canal was re ...

at Canal Flats, BC to the upper reach of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

that began at

Columbia Lake Columbia Lake is the primary lake at the headwaters of the Columbia River, in British Columbia, Canada. It is fed by several small tributaries. The village of Canal Flats is located at the south end of the lake. Columbia Lake is a fresh water lak ...

and ran down the

Columbia Valley The Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and the Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Rad ...

to Golden, BC. ''North Star'' left Fort Steele on June 4, 1902. ''North Star'' was the last steamboat to depart that community, which was in rapid decline because of being bypassed by recent railway construction. The Baillie-Grohman canal had been used by a steamboat just twice before. Both transits were by the sternwheeler ''Gwendoline'' which passed through the canal northwards in 1893 or 1894, and then south again in 1894. ''Gwendoline'' was a much smaller steamboat than ''North Star'' ( and 90 gross tons for ''Gwendoline''''Gwendoline'' was lengthened to in 1896, after she finished her second transit of the canal. compared to and 380 gross tons for ''North Star''). By 1902, the canal, which for the most part had been dug in soft earth, had sloughed in. Worse for ''North Star'' was that the canal included a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, which was feet long. A vessel like ''North Star'' which was , could never have passed through the lock under normal conditions. ''North Star'' was also 9 inches too wide for the lock. Many at the time considered the task impossible. The Baillie-Grohman canal was only a little over a mile long, but it was in such poor condition that it took two weeks to coax ''North Star'' through it. The brush had overgrown the canal and the water was shallow causing the steamer to scrape bottom. At one point, a tree fell onto the steamer, just missing Armstrong's young daughter Ruth (for whom his steamer ''Ruth'' had been named). When ''North Star'' came to the lock, Armstrong solved the width problem by simply sawing 5 or 6 inches off the guards (the thick timber running along the top outside edge of a sternwheeler's hull). The length problem was solved differently. In those days, ore was packed out of mines in the Kootenay country by stuffing oxhides full of the mineral, and dragging or sliding the filled hides to the nearest steamboat landing or rail depot. Anderson had a number of oxhides on board ''North Star'' and he had them filled with sand and piled up to form temporary lock gates. He then destroyed the existing gates, and when the ''North Star'' was between the pair of temporary lock gates, he blew the forward temporary gates out with

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

, and the steamer surged forward with the rush of water into the lower part of the canal. Once through the canal, a low bridge across the Columbia River blocked the vessel's path. Armstrong hoisted the bridge out of the way with the ''North Stars capstan, then replaced it once the vessel had passed by. ''North Star'' finally arrived at Golden on July 2, 1902, thus becoming, with ''Gwendoline'' one of the only two steamers ever to operate on both the upper Columbia and the upper Kootenay rivers.

Operations on the Columbia River and customs seizure

Captain Armstrong ran ''North Star'' on the Columbia river out of Golden for two seasons, but then the Canadian Customs officials realized Armstrong had not paid custom duties on ''North Star'' when he'd brought the vessel into Canada permanently from the United States. Technically the vessel was seized by Canadian customs, but in practice this meant that Armstrong was forced take his vessel at Golden until the duty was paid. This apparently did not trouble Armstrong greatly, as he used ''North Star'' as a source of spare parts for his other steamboats.

Notes

External links

Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History

Fort Steele Heritage Town
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Star (Sternwheeler 1897) Paddle steamers of British Columbia Steamboats of the Columbia River Steamboats of the Kootenay River Columbia Valley Transportation in Lincoln County, Montana 1897 ships