Annerly was a sternwheel steamboat that operated on the upper Kootenay River in British Columbia and northwestern Montana from 1892 to 1896.

Annerly The crewmen on the foredeck appear to be members of local Indian tribes, who commonly served as crew of steamboats in the Kootenay region.
History
Canada
NameAnnerly (US #106963[1])
OwnerDepuy & Jones
RouteKootenay River in Montana and British Columbia
Launched1892, at Jennings, Montana
FateDismantled 1896
General characteristics
TypeInland passenger/freighter
Tonnage128 gross tons; 79.5 registered tons
Length92.5 ft (28 m)
Beam16 ft (5 m)
Depth4.4 ft (1 m) depth of hold
Installed powertwin steam engines, horizontally mounted
Propulsionsternwheel

Design and construction

edit

Annerly was built in 1892 at Jennings, Montana on the Kootenay River for the partnership of Dupuy & Jones.[1] Annerly was a small steam vessel with scant accommodations.[2]

Operations on Kootenay River

edit

Annerly was the first American steamer to run on the upper Kootenay river.[3] Annerly first arrived at Fort Steele, BC, then the principal settlement in the region, in May, 1893.[2]

During the navigation seasons (generally fall and spring) of 1893 through 1895, Annerly was operated from Jennings, Montana north up the Kootenay River across the international border into British Columbia to a point on the river known as North Star Landing, upriver from Fort Steele. Annerly loaded ore at North Star landing and then transported the ore south to Jennings to connect with the Great Northern Railway.[1] Annerly's commanders included Capt. James D. Miller (1830–1914) and Capt. Irvin B. Sandborn.[2][3]

Rescue mission in Jennings Canyon

edit

Operations on the Kootenay river were made hazardous by the Jennings Canyon.[4] Of the six sternwheelers that were employed on the upper Kootenay River, only Annerly was not wrecked or seriously damaged in the canyon. Steamers sometimes ran in pairs through the canyon. On July 12, 1896, Annerly under Captain Sandborn, was running Jennings Canyon ahead of Rustler. Rustler hit a rock which made a hole in the hull near the boiler. Captain Sandborn's wife noticed something wrong with Rustler and called out to her husband. Sandborn then turned Annerly around and went back up the canyon. He arrived in time to take off all 19 of Rustler's passengers and crew just before Rustler was washed off the rock and rolled over.[2]

Dismantled

edit

Annerly was dismantled in 1896.[1]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Affleck, Edward L., A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska, at 47-48, Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 ISBN 0-920034-08-X
  2. ^ a b c d Downs, Art, Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers, at 105-107, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1972
  3. ^ a b Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 4-5, 249, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966
  4. ^ Jennings Canyon is now submerged by the lake formed by the Libby Dam

Further reading

edit
  • 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
  • Timmen, Fritz, Blow for the Landing, 75-78, 134, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1972 ISBN 0-87004-221-1
edit