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The Okanogan Steamboat Company was a shipping company that ran steamboats on the Columbia River above Wenatchee, Washington from the late 19th century to 1915.
Its steamboats included Pringle, Chelan, and North Star. [1]
Wenatchee is a city 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 2018, the Office of Financial Management estimated the population at 34,329. Located at the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers near the eastern foothills of the Cascade Range, Wenatchee lies on the western side of the Columbia River, across from the city of East Wenatchee. The Columbia River forms the boundary between Chelan and Douglas County. Wenatchee is the principal city of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Chelan and Douglas counties. However, the "Wenatchee Valley Area" generally refers to the land between Rocky Reach and Rock Island Dam on both banks of the Columbia, which includes East Wenatchee, Rock Island, and Malaga.
The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for 53 miles (85 km), emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leavenworth, Peshastin, Dryden, Cashmere, Monitor, and Wenatchee, all within Chelan County. The river attracts kayaking and river rafting enthusiasts and tourism.
The Cascade and Columbia River Railroad is a short line railroad that interchanges with BNSF Railway in Wenatchee, Washington and runs north to Oroville. The former Burlington Northern W-O Branch was purchased by the RailAmerica Corporation in September 1996. Genesee & Wyoming later acquired the railroad in late 2012.
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company (O.S.N.) was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen. It was incorporated in Washington because of a lack of corporate laws in Oregon, though it paid Oregon taxes.
The Shaver Transportation Company is an inland water freight transportation company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded in 1880 and played a major role in the development of freight transport in the Portland area and along the Columbia.
Many steamboats operated on the Columbia River and its tributaries, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, from about 1850 to 1981. Major tributaries of the Columbia that formed steamboat routes included the Willamette and Snake rivers. Navigation was impractical between the Snake River and the Canada–US border, due to several rapids, but steamboats also operated along the Wenatchee Reach of the Columbia, in northern Washington, and on the Arrow Lakes of southern British Columbia.
The era of steamboats on the Arrow Lakes and adjoining reaches of the Columbia River is long-gone but was an important part of the history of the West Kootenay and Columbia Country regions of British Columbia. The Arrow Lakes are formed by the Columbia River in southeastern British Columbia. Steamboats were employed on both sides of the border in the upper reaches of the Columbia, linking port-towns on either side of the border, and sometimes boats would be built in one country and operated in the other. Tributaries of the Columbia include the Kootenay River which rises in Canada, then flows south into the United States, then bends north again back into Canada, where it widens into Kootenay Lake. As with the Arrow Lakes, steamboats once operated on the Kootenay River and Kootenay Lake.
The Cowlitz River flows into the Columbia River at a point 68 miles from the Columbia's mouth, in southwestern Washington, United States.
Steamboats operated on the Wenatchee Reach of the Columbia River from the late 1880s to 1915. The main base of operations was Wenatchee, Washington, located at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers, 465 miles (748 km) from the mouth of the river. Operations were mainly between Wenatchee and Bridgeport. Rapids below Wenatchee and above Bridgeport prevented safe navigation.
The sidewheeler Idaho was a steamboat that ran on the Columbia River and Puget Sound from 1860 to 1898. There is some confusion as to the origins of the name; many historians have proposed it is the inspiration for the name of the State of Idaho. Considerable doubt has been cast on this due to the fact that it is unclear if the boat was named before or after the idea of 'Idaho' as a territory name was proposed. John Ruckel also allegedly stated he had named the boat after a Native American term meaning 'Gem of the Mountains' he got from a mining friend from what is now Colorado territory. This steamer should not be confused with the many other vessels of the same name, including the sternwheeler Idaho built in 1903 for service on Lake Coeur d'Alene and the steamship Idaho of the Pacific Coast Steamship Line which sank near Port Townsend, Washington.
Joseph Kellogg was a well-known steamboat captain and businessman of Portland, Oregon.
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.
James D. Miller was a steamboat captain in the Pacific Northwest from 1851 to 1903. He became well known for his long length of service, the large number of vessels he commanded, and the many different geographical areas in which he served.
From 1886 to 1920, steamboats ran on the upper reaches of the Columbia and Kootenay in the Rocky Mountain Trench, in western North America. The circumstances of the rivers in the area, and the construction of transcontinental railways across the trench from east to west made steamboat navigation possible.
The Carrie Ladd was an important early steamboat on the lower Columbia and lower Willamette rivers. The vessel established the basic design of the Columbia River steamboat, which was later used throughout the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon.
Wenatchee Confluence State Park is a public recreation area and nature preserve at the north end of the city of Wenatchee in Chelan County, Washington. The state park consists of 197 acres (80 ha) spanning the Wenatchee River at its confluence with the Columbia River. The park is bifurcated by the Wenatchee River into north and south sections that are connected by a footbridge. The north section, located in Sunnyslope, is suburban and recreational while the south section, located in West Wenatchee, is a man-made wetland area designated as the Horan Natural Area. The park is operated by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission under lease from the Chelan County Public Utility District, which owns the land. Park offerings include camping, boating, fishing, swimming, and various sports activities.
Monitor is a small unincorporated community in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is situated along the Wenatchee River about 8 miles upstream from its junction with the Columbia River in the fertile Wenatchee Valley.
The Wenatchee World is the leading daily newspaper in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, Washington, United States. Serving Chelan, Douglas and other North Central Washington counties since 1905, The Wenatchee World prints on its front page that it is "Published in the Apple Capital of the World and the Buckle of the Power Belt of the Great Northwest".
Robert Young was a stern-wheel driven steamboat that operated on the Columbia and Willamette rivers from 1918 to 1935. This vessel was originally named Nespelem, and operated under that name until 1920. From 1920 to 1935, this vessel was owned by the Western Transportation Company or one of its subsidiaries, and was employed primarily in service to paper mills.