North Star was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in eastern Washington from 1902 to 1904. This vessel should not be confused with the other vessels, some of similar design, also named North Star.

Construction

The North Star was built at Wenatchee, Washington

Wenatchee, Washington

Wenatchee is located in North Central Washington and is the largest city and county seat of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925...

 in 1902 by George Cotterell for the Columbia & Okanogan Steamboat Company, which Captain Alexander Griggs

Alexander Griggs

Alexander Griggs was an American steamboat captain. He is acknowledged as the founder of the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota and is called "The Father of Grand Forks."...

 (1828-1903) was the principal owner.

Operations

North Star operated out of Wenatchee on the Columbia

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 and Okanogan

Okanogan River

The Okanogan River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington...

 rivers. On September 3, 1902, North Star was wrecked in Entiat Rapids. The company was able to salvage the vessel. In 1907 at Wenatchee, North Star was rebuilt and enlarged by the veteran shipwright Alexander Watson. (Another source states that the vessel was sold to H.S. DePuy & Will Lake and renamed Enterprise, and a new vessel, also called North Star was built in 1907. A third source states the vessel was rebuilt.)

Withdrawn from service

Settlement in the Okanogan region decreased starting in about 1910. As a result, business declined so much that by 1915, the Columbia & Okanogan Steamboat Co. was forced to take all of its boats out of service. of its boats at Wenatchee, and North Star. The company had made arrangements to sell North Star to Captain Fred McDermott, who was considering taking the vessel further up the Columbia, to run between Pateros

Pateros, Washington

Pateros is a city in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 643 at the 2000 census and increased 3.7% to 667 in the 2010 census.-History:Pateros was originally established as Ive's Landing in around 1886 by Lee Ives...

 and Bridgeport

Bridgeport, Washington

Bridgeport is a city in Douglas County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bridgeport's population was 2,059 at the 2000 census.Bridgeport is located near the Chief Joseph Dam.-History:...

.

Destruction by fire

The sale of North Star had not been finalized when on July 8, 1915, fire broke out on North Star when she was rafted up at Wenatchee with the rest of the company's remaining boats, the Columbia, Okanogan, and Chelan. North Star was the outermost vessel, but the fire soon spread to the other three. All the vessels were rapidly and completely destroyed, and although the hull of the innermost vessel, Chelan remained afloat, the damage to that vessel was beyond repair. There was no insurance. The Columbia & Okanogan Steamboat Co. had so little money that they were planning to use some of the proceeds of the anticipated sale of North Star to pay the insurance premiums on the remaining three vessels. The cause of the fire was never determined.

Further reading

• Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake -- Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN 0-9615811-0-7

See also

Steamboats of the Columbia River, Wenatchee Reach