A History of Northport

The First Sixty Years

The story of Northport begins as a center for mining activity. Like many mining towns, it is a story of booms and busts. Rich strikes in the Kootenay and Red Mountain districts of British Columbia needed transportation to ship out ore and bring in supplies. Ores needed to be smelted close to the mines to make them profitable. Prospectors seeking and staking claims needed to be able to record their discoveries locally and get supplies. A city sprang up to meet the need.

EARLY YEARS

Northport began when railroad builder Daniel C. Corbin had agents purchase two wooded benches overlooking the Columbia River from the federal government in 1892. Corbin had plans to extend his Spokane Falls and Northern railroad from Little Dalles, the town seven miles south, to the rich mining districts of southern British Columbia. Northport would provide a railhead for two railroads into Canada. The Northport Townsite Company was organized and the land was transferred to it on May 24, 1892. Four days later a plat of the town was filed with the county. [1] p. 119

D. C. Corbin contracted newspaperman William P. Hughes to establish a newspaper and promote the new town. Hughes hauled his printing press the seven miles from Little Dalles with an ox team, set up shop and printed the first issue on July 4, 1892. The town at this time consisted of two buildings, several tents and perhaps a dozen people. Mr. Hughes published The Northport News for the next forty-eight years. [1] p. 119, [2] p. 137, [5]
Hughes, sometimes called "Mister Northport", was appointed postmaster in 1892 and elected mining recorder. In 1895 he was appointed United States commissioner. He was elected as the first mayor in 1898 and was later police judge. [2] p. 236

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At this time, The Kootenai Steamship Company riverboats provided service from Little Dalles to Revelstoke, B. C. After the Spokane Falls and Northern railroad reached Northport on Sept. 18, 1892, the riverboats ran from Northport to Revelstoke. [2] p. 138
With the coming of the railroad, the town grew rapidly. A mining district was organized, a school was established and a post office. The extension of the railroad to the Canadian border, to connect with D. C. Corbin's proposed Nelson and Fort Sheppard railroad, brought hundreds of workmen to town. Business boomed. In January, 1893 The Northport News reported: "A lady of elegant leisure has rented four bedrooms and a parlor ... and will leave for Spokane tomorrow to lay in a supply of girls." [2] p. 140, [4] p. 6

By spring, the railroad construction crews moved north to old Boundary, a wide open, short lived town and the excitement in Northport died down. [1] pp. 134,135
On Sept. 19, 1893 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose later assassination sparked World War I, transferred from the steamship Columbia to the railroad at Northport on his world tour. He noted in his diary, "The transfer from the landing to the station at Northport is strange as the track runs straight into the river. The steamer moves so close to it that it is beached. The train literally drives into the water up to half its axis (sic) height. The traveller thus takes a big step from the ship to the train wagon while tiny fishes are swimming around the steamer and the train." [1] p. 135, [3]

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1893 also witnessed two major fires, on May 8, 1893, at least six businesses burned and other losses were sustained and on August 10, 1893, six businesses, one home, and one life were lost. The businesses quickly rebuilt. [4] pp. 16,18

On June 3, 1894, a huge storm ripped through the area, high winds broke and uprooted trees and caused all manner of damage around town. After the wind came rain for several hours. Then the river began to rise, eventually reaching Northport's main business street 70 feet above the low water level, houses floated away and flood waters and broken trees covered the railroad tracks for fifty miles. "The highest flood known in this section for seventy-five years". [6] 1921-06-10, [2] p. 142

Northport became an international port of entry in 1895. [2] p. 149

In March of 1896 another major fire occurred in the business district. This time at least 16 businesses were destroyed or damaged. [2] p. 143, [4] p. 22

The north half of the Colville Indian Reservation, across the river from Northport, was opened to mining in February 1896. Miners and prospectors flooded into the area and came into town to record their claims, get supplies and entertain themselves. [2] p. 143, [6] 1896-03-05, "Mining Locations"
In August of 1896 there were three general merchandise stores, three groceries, two meat markets, two bakeries, three fruit and confectionery shops, two shoe shops, a jewelry store, a drug store, five restaurants, a news stand, a photograph gallery, a printing office, a commission house, two laundries, two barber shops, a bath house, seven lodging houses, three hotels, eleven saloons, and a dance hall. There were two harness shops, two blacksmith shops, two livery stables, a tin shop, two sawmills, a planing mill, a lime works, a brick yard and a ferry. [2] p. 144

THE RED MOUNTAIN RAILROAD

In 1890, ores rich in copper, gold and silver were discovered at Red Mountain, near the present city of Rossland, British Columbia.
Mines were developed and the ore was laboriously shipped out by wagon on a rude road 17 miles and ferried across the river to Northport and the Spokane Falls and Northern railway. In January 1896, 170 four horse teams hauled ore down the road in one week. The need for rail transportation was great and D. C. Corbin set about obtaining approvals and charters to fill the need. Construction began on the American side in May of 1896 and a ferry was built at Northport to carry engines and rail cars across the Columbia River until a bridge could be built. The Columbia and Red Mountain railroad began service in December. The bridge over the Columbia River, one of the first to cross the mighty stream, was begun in early spring 1897 and completed in October. Northport was now a busy railway center boasting a two story 180 foot long passenger depot, the connection point of three railroads linking the supply center of Spokane to the mining districts of British Columbia. [6] 1896-01-23, [1] pp. 161-164

In 1898 D. C. Corbin sold his Spokane Falls and Northern, Columbia and Red Mountain and Nelson and Fort Sheppard railroads. They now became part of the Great Northern railway system. [1] p. 189
Northport was a rowdy and bustling town. On a Saturday night one could visit the Peerless Saloon where fifty men might be found drinking and gambling. Down the street a business establishment was celebrating it's new brick store building with a grand ball, where at least a hundred elegantly dressed men and women danced the "mazy" to the Northport String Band. Over at The White Swan dance hall another large crowd was enjoying the night and across the street at Cline's dance hall, the "ladies of easy virtue" were entertaining the "horny handed prospector and miner". [6] 1897-06-24

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SMELTER YEARS

The Red Mountain mines were now producing more ore than the smelter at Trail B. C. could process. The mine owners, mostly Americans, wanted another smelter. Northport had limestone and rail connections for importing coke, coal and building materials and exporting the smelter matte to distant refineries. D. C. Corbin donated the land on a bench overlooking the river north of town and construction began in August of 1897. The Le Roi Smelter began operations in January 1898. Two hundred men were employed which soon increased to almost six hundred. [1] pp. 175,176, [2] p.144, [8] p. 75
The smelter was originally organized by the American owners of the Le Roi mine as the Le Roi Mining and Smelting Co., it was sold to English investors in 1899 and became known as the Northport Mining and Smelting Co. [2] p. 145

Ore arriving at the smelter was first roasted in open heaps to burn away the sulphur. The resulting smoke would drift over Northport, killing vegetation and irritating lungs. Farmers in the area had hoped to establish a fruit growing district but the suphurous fumes destroyed their orchards. [6] 1898-01-13,1898-08-03, [7] 1900-04-16, "Northport Has Smoke Again"

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The Northport Cemetery Association was formed in 1897 and established the Riverview Cemetery, the old cemetery was on the smelter grounds and the graves had to be moved. [8] p. 75, [6] 1898-03-24

With the coming of the smelter, the town and businesses prospered, many making improvements and expanding, the depot platform was enlarged, houses were going up, a second newspaper was established. Hotels, saloons, a brewery, an opera house and a brick school house were built. [6] 1898-02-17, 1898-02-24, 1898-03-31
Telephone service connected Northport to Spokane in June of 1897 and Nelson, British Columbia in November of the same year. [6] 1897-06-03, 1897-11-11

On May third 1898 at 4:20 in the morning, five shots rang out to arouse the citizens that a rapidly spreading fire was threatening to destroy their city. This, the fourth major fire, was the most destructive, reducing to ashes the entire business district and the red light district, more than three city blocks. The only business spared was A. T. Kendrick & Co. which only the year before had built a brick structure, the only business to do so. Northport at this time had no organized fire brigade or water system, water being delivered by the barrel. Dynamite was used to blow up buildings in the path of the fire but was unable to stop the destruction. [6] 1898-05-05, [7] 1898-05-04
The embers had hardly cooled before contracts were being placed for brick buildings, the merchants eager to rebuild. The editor of The Northport News opined "we look and behold another city rising on the ruins of the old." [7] 1898-05-04, [6] 1898-05-12

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On June 23, 1898 an election was held to incorporate an area of the county with 1500 inhabitants as the "City of Northport", and to elect a mayor and city council. Incorporation passed 228 for, 5 against. Now, instead of the county collecting over $5000 in local saloon fees, the new town could afford to improve the streets, build sidewalks, have a health officer, a fire department, a marshal and a jail. [6] 1898-06-08

The new City of Northport contracted with the smelter company to install a water system with mains and 15 hydrants, the water conveyed from Deep Creek in a wooden pipe . [6] 1898-07-27, 1898-08-10

A volunteer Fire Department was organized, established and equipped in the summer of 1898. [6] 1898-07-27, 1898-08-17

An electric power plant was established at Deep Creek falls and street lights were turned on June 3, 1899 illuminating the city for the first time. [6] 1898-11-02, 1899-03-15, 1899-06-07, [12]

The Presbyterian church of Northport was dedicated on December 13, 1896 and the Catholic church on May 7, 1899. There was also an Episcopalian congregation. [6] 1896-12-17, 1899-05-10, [2] p. 150
Over the years there were many clubs and secret and benevolent societies in Northport. There were the Foresters of America, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masonic, the Order of Eastern Star, the Woodmen of the World, the Women of Woodcraft, the Northport Commercial Club, the Eagles and the Lions. [2] p. 150, [6] 1903-01-07, [14] p.100

The US immigration inspector was located at Northport in 1900. [2] p. 146
A sewer was installed in 1901 to carry waste from the crowded business district to the river. [6] 1901-03-27
At this time, the city was financed without property taxes but by licensing saloons, and by fines levied on gambling and prostitutes . [6] 1901-04-17
The brick school house, built in 1898, burned to the ground July 22, 1901. [6] 1901-07-24

Northport Presbyterian Church [22]

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In 1901 the smelter was running six furnaces and employed 600 men. The Northport Mill and Smeltermen's Union was formed and a struggle ensued, with the company replacing union men with non-union. In July the smelter company discharged the carpenters and a strike was called. Train loads of non-union men from Joplin, Missouri were brought in. There were "armed confrontations, killings, shooting scrapes and men mysteriously disappeared". Local authorities refused to take sides. Accordingly, the company reorganized in Idaho state as the Northport Smelting and Refining Co. and obtained an injunction against the Union in United States federal court. The strike continued until March in 1902 when the Western Federation of Miners withdrew its support and the Northport union collapsed. [2] pp. 146-149, [6] 1922-08-18, "Smelter History Here from the Beginning to Now", [8] p. 75
In these first years, the smelter mostly treated the copper and gold ores from the Le Roi mine near Rossland, B. C., but in 1906 the Le Roi contracted the Trail, B. C. smelter to treat its ores and the Northport smelter gradually ceased operations, shipping the last matte in May 1911. [9]
After the smelter was idled, things looked bleak for Northport. Times were hard, the population fell to 300, many businesses closed and the Northport State Bank became insolvent, unable to pay its depositors. [8] p. 78, [4] p. 29
On July 22, 1914, Northport suffered its fifth major fire. Blocks 3 and 4 were destroyed. This included most of the business district, a warehouse and the elegant Great Northern train depot. Only a few businesses rebuilt and the once densely packed block 4 has remained mostly vacant ever since. [7] 1914-07-23, [11] 1914-07-24, [15]

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THE LEAD SMELTER

In September 1915, the Northport Smelting and Refining Co. was purchased by the Hercules Mining Co. and the Tamarack and Custer Consolidated Mining Co. The firm was principally governed by the Day brothers, Eugene and Jerome, Jerome as president. The smelter was renovated to treat lead ores, and began operations March 12, 1916. [6] 1922-08-18, [9]

Northport revived, two hundred men were at work reconstructing the smelter, the lime quarry was put into production again and the flume from Deep Creek was expanded. The rail line between Marcus and Northport was improved. The Miners and Smelters Bank was established and city property doubled in value.

"The song of the hammer and saw and on every hand new dwellings are springing up to house the hundreds". [8] p. 78, [10] 1915-09-18, 1916-04-01, 1916-08-12

Great deposits of lead and zinc were discovered in the area, notably the Electric Point mine, 20 miles east of town, which "has a national reputation as the biggest and richest lead mine ever discovered in the Northwest". [14] p. 116, [10] 1915-09-25, 1916-08-12
In 1917 a Cottrell precipitator was installed to recover metals lost up the chimney. After war was declared on April 6, 1917, lead became a critical resource. A wooden fence was erected around the smelter grounds and troops were stationed to guard the works. [9], [8]p. 78

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In 1918, West Kootenay Power and Light completed a 60,000 volt transmission line from Rossland, B. C. to Northport to supply the smelter and town with electric power. After the smelter closed in 1921, the company continued to supply power to Northport despite it being unprofitable and even extended lines to the Black Rock zinc mine on Deep Creek and to the Janni quarry south of town. It served the area until 1942 when it sold its lines to the Stevens County Electrical Co-operative. [12]

By 1919 the smelter was equipped to sample, crush, roast, sinter and smelt gold, silver and lead ores. It also had a gravity water system supplied by a flume from Deep Creek two miles distant, a machine shop, offices and a hospital. A government permit to dump waste in the Columbia River was considered a valuable asset. Although the smelter smoke ruined crops and sickened livestock, the smelting company prevailed in lawsuits brought by local farmers. [9], [6] 1922-08-18

At the end of the world war, demand for lead fell and unfavorable freight rates led the Northport smelter to close in 1921. The plant was sold to the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) in August 1922. ASARCO dismantled the works and the boom days were over. [4] p. 192, [8] p. 79, [9]

With the closing of the smelter, the Great Northern railway's Columbia and Red Mountain line became unprofitable and was discontinued in 1921. They offered the right of way and the bridge over the Columbia to the state highway department. Rails and ties were removed, the bridge was planked and the road bed became a highway. [10] 1921-12-31, 1922-02-04
The bridge continued as a roadway for teams and automobiles until it was condemned in 1946.

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THE DEPRESSION YEARS

After the smelter closed there were virtually no jobs in the area. People left town, some so desperate they burned their houses for the insurance. The mid-1920's were drought years. That stressed farming and led to fires that impacted the lumber industry. By 1929 only three sawmills remained of the 18 that had been in the area. Many people left the area, properties were abandoned and taxes not paid. [4] p. 29, [21] p. 10, [17] p. 73

In addition to the general depressed business conditions locally, the Trail smelter doubled sulphur emissions in 1925. The toxic smoke drifted down the river valley to the United States. Trees died, crops withered and cattle sickened. A meeting of the local farmers led to a Citizens Protective Association being formed. The Northport Grange was formed in 1929 and joined in helping bring the situation to the attention of members of congress. The US State Department opened negotiations with Canada and the matter was referred to The International Joint Commission. This was the first case of air pollution to come before an international tribunal. Negotiations dragged on for years, but in 1934 President Roosevelt pressed the case. More studies were made and a Final Decision was arrived at on Mar 11, 1941 in which $438,000 was paid to compensate the farmers. Individual farmers who had made claims received an amount that was only a small fraction of their losses. [8] p. 100, [17]
The Trail Smelter case became "one of the most cited and fundamental cases for international environmental law". [16]

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In June of 1934, construction began on the Northport Gymnasium. A project of the Washington Emergency Relief Administration and other state and federal programs, the construction provided jobs during the hard depression years. In order to help as many as possible, men worked two or three days a week and were paid 50 cents an hour. Logs for the unique structure came from the Boundary pole yard. When it was completed the building served as a gym for the school and a center of community activity. It burned to the ground January 30, 1963. [4] p. 53, [8] p. 123,124, [18]

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In the 1940's various construction projects provided some employment. The river was widened at the Little Dalles, a Portland Cement plant opened south of town and the highway was improved. [8] p. 128

The old railroad bridge across the Columbia River, used as a roadway bridge for 24 years, was condemned in 1946. A diesel powered ferry was brought in until a new bridge could be built. In the spring of 1948, the water was so high it became unsafe to operate the ferry. In February 1950, the river froze over and the ferry was out of service for a month, and in March of 1951 the ferry burned and the only way to cross the river was a 24 foot passenger boat. The new bridge opened in June of the same year. [4] pp. 117, 159

The state of Washington awarded a contract for a new bridge in August of 1946. "Construction began but the great spring flood of 1948 undermined the bridge before it could be completed. The contractors redesigned the structure to withstand flooding, using new underwater blasting techniques to build much deeper piers. ... Specially designed to withstand severe flood conditions, the steel cantilever through-truss bridge is the largest human-made structure in Stevens County." [19]

On July 3, 1951, the new bridge was dedicated by "the greatest crowd in Northport's history". Dignitaries from Olympia and Victoria, B. C. were on hand, the mayor and city council of Trail, B. C. showed up in top hats and frock coats. A crowd a half mile long paraded across the bridge led by a Colville Drum and Bugle corps and the Scotch Highland bagpipers from Trail. It was followed by a banquet at the Grange hall, fireworks, races and dancing. [20]

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J. Regis

Questions? comments? contact Jim Regis at: [email protected]

[1] Fahey, John. Inland Empire, D. C. Corbin and Spokane, Seattle, University of
Washington Press, 1965
[2] An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904
[3] Franz Ferdinand's World Tour http://www.franzferdinandsworld.com/northport-spokane-19-september-1893/
[4] Northport over Forty Club, Northport Pioneers, Statesman-Examiner, 1981, Colville, WA
[5]Statesman-Examiner, Colville, WA, July 13, 1962 J. C. Harrigan,
[6] The Northport News, Northport, WA
[7] The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA
[8] The Lotze Family of Onion Creek, Washington Anna Marie Lotze Reeves, Gray Dog Press, Spokane,WA
[9] Northport Mining and Smelting Company, Manuscript Group 234, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho
[10] Colville Examiner, Colville, WA
[11] Spokane Daily Chronicle, Spokane, WA
[12] Powering Northport, Greg Nesterhoff, https://www.northporthistory.org/powering-northport-1893-1942.html
[14]R. L. Polk & Co, Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry Counties Directory 1911
[15] Sanborn Map Co., New York, Northport,Washington, February 1918, August 1929 https://www.loc.gov/search/?fa=location:washington%7Clocation:stevens+county&q=Northport+Washington
[16] An International Environmental Law case study: The Trail Smelter Arbitration, Catherine Prunella, International Pollution Issues, City University of New York, December 2014 https://intlpollution.commons.gc.cuny.edu/an-international-environmental-law-case-study-the-trail-smelter-arbitration/
[17]The Trail Smelter Case: International Air Pollution in the Columbia Valley, Keith A. Murray, BC Studies, no. 15, Autumn 1972 https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/download/757/799
[18] UW library special collections, accession K0117, box 1, folder: Stevens Co.
[19] https://www.historylink.org/File/8024
[20] New Bridge Rite Pulls Big Crowd, unattributed newspaper article held by the Northport Historical Society
[21] John D. Wirth, Smelter Smoke in North America, University Press of Kansas, 2000, p10
[22] Northport Historical Society
[23] detail Eastern Washington State Historical Society L95-107.3
[24] Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown, Ferry Boats on the Columbia River, Superior Publishing Co., Seattle
[25] Northwest Historical Postcards Collection, University of Idaho, https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/postcards/
[26] U.S. Geological Survey, Ransome, Frederick Leslie (Photographer), https://library.usgs.gov/photo/#/item/51dda5fbe4b0f72b4471e64f