Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
From Beautiful Bonner: The History of Bonner County, Idaho - Vol. I
In Bonner County the earliest known operating ferry began around the middle of the 1800s. One historian writes that a George Montour began his ferry at Seneacquoteen in 1858. Another says that it was Guy Haines in 1863. In either event, the crossing at Seneacquoteen was the first, as the Indians had been crossing the river at this point long before Euroamericans set their eyes on it.
The Seneacquoteen Trail, or as it was later to be known, the Wild Horse Trail, provided an important link between points in the Oregon Territory and British Columbia. This route that had been used for centuries by the Indians became essential to the early white travelers, civilian and military alike.
With the passage of time and the influx of more and more pioneers, other roads were built, such as the one north from Rathdrum through Spirit Valley to the falls. To provide access to the north bank and the country beyond, Joseph and Albeni Poirier began a ferry and river boat landing below the falls in 1891.
Not long thereafter, a new settlement came to life downstream encouraging a more desirable crossing and boat landing. The crossing at Newport, Idaho, went on to become one of the key ferryboat operations in the county, ending when it was 'bridged out' in 1927.
At Priest River it was the construction of the Great Northern Railway that prompted the need for farmers and ranchers to get to the other side of the river. The ferry, begun before the turn of the century by Joe Young and Jack Will, didn't last too long, as the clamor for a bridge was overpowering. A five-span steel bridge was opened for traffic in the fall of 1916.
Further upstream, George Carey started his ferry in 1892, also to make the GN more accessible. Apparently a victim of the 1918 flu epidemic, his ferry stopped when he died on the second day of January, 1919. It was not until the spring of 1921 that the Thama Ferry began where Mr. Carey had left off. In 1954, when local taxpayers told the commissioners they thought their money could be better used on a road to Priest River, the ferry was discontinued. That a milk truck had gone into the river a month before might have also influenced the decision.
At Seneacquoteen the ferry survived until March 1957, making it not only the first ferry, but also the last.
There were ferries that operated still further upstream such as Smith's, Campfield's and Baldwin's. The latter site was chosen in 1903 as the crossing point for the Spokane and Kootenai Railroad. Today this is where the Spokane International (Union Pacific) railroad bridge is now located.
Supposedly there was a ferry at Dover. The county paid for a boat and authorized the crossing but never paid a ferryman.
At Sandpoint there were two railroads and a growing community that made a river crossing increasingly important. One of the earlier proposals was for a bridge to be built on the sand spit with a ferry to cross the deeper part of the channel. That never happened because a bridge the entire distance seemed the better and ultimate solution. The result was the famous wagon bridge, so named because it was more than a simple foot bridge.
In eastern Bonner County it has been said the earliest crossing of the Clark Fork was at the settlement of Clark Fork. In those days the road out of Montana was only on the south side of the river. This crossing became increasingly important during the time the Northern Pacific was under construction. The ferryboat at Clark Fork was bridged out in 1918.
Bonner County Ferries
by Paul H. Rechnitzer
http://www.bonnercountyhistory.org/History/Ferry/BCferries.html
In Bonner County the earliest known operating ferry began around the middle of the 1800s. One historian writes that a George Montour began his ferry at Seneacquoteen in 1858. Another says that it was Guy Haines in 1863. In either event, the crossing at Seneacquoteen was the first, as the Indians had been crossing the river at this point long before Euroamericans set their eyes on it.
The Seneacquoteen Trail, or as it was later to be known, the Wild Horse Trail, provided an important link between points in the Oregon Territory and British Columbia. This route that had been used for centuries by the Indians became essential to the early white travelers, civilian and military alike.
With the passage of time and the influx of more and more pioneers, other roads were built, such as the one north from Rathdrum through Spirit Valley to the falls. To provide access to the north bank and the country beyond, Joseph and Albeni Poirier began a ferry and river boat landing below the falls in 1891.
Not long thereafter, a new settlement came to life downstream encouraging a more desirable crossing and boat landing. The crossing at Newport, Idaho, went on to become one of the key ferryboat operations in the county, ending when it was 'bridged out' in 1927.
At Priest River it was the construction of the Great Northern Railway that prompted the need for farmers and ranchers to get to the other side of the river. The ferry, begun before the turn of the century by Joe Young and Jack Will, didn't last too long, as the clamor for a bridge was overpowering. A five-span steel bridge was opened for traffic in the fall of 1916.
Further upstream, George Carey started his ferry in 1892, also to make the GN more accessible. Apparently a victim of the 1918 flu epidemic, his ferry stopped when he died on the second day of January, 1919. It was not until the spring of 1921 that the Thama Ferry began where Mr. Carey had left off. In 1954, when local taxpayers told the commissioners they thought their money could be better used on a road to Priest River, the ferry was discontinued. That a milk truck had gone into the river a month before might have also influenced the decision.
At Seneacquoteen the ferry survived until March 1957, making it not only the first ferry, but also the last.
There were ferries that operated still further upstream such as Smith's, Campfield's and Baldwin's. The latter site was chosen in 1903 as the crossing point for the Spokane and Kootenai Railroad. Today this is where the Spokane International (Union Pacific) railroad bridge is now located.
Supposedly there was a ferry at Dover. The county paid for a boat and authorized the crossing but never paid a ferryman.
At Sandpoint there were two railroads and a growing community that made a river crossing increasingly important. One of the earlier proposals was for a bridge to be built on the sand spit with a ferry to cross the deeper part of the channel. That never happened because a bridge the entire distance seemed the better and ultimate solution. The result was the famous wagon bridge, so named because it was more than a simple foot bridge.
In eastern Bonner County it has been said the earliest crossing of the Clark Fork was at the settlement of Clark Fork. In those days the road out of Montana was only on the south side of the river. This crossing became increasingly important during the time the Northern Pacific was under construction. The ferryboat at Clark Fork was bridged out in 1918.
Bonner County Ferries
by Paul H. Rechnitzer
http://www.bonnercountyhistory.org/History/Ferry/BCferries.html
