Gwendoline sternwheeler

Gwendoline was a sternwheel steamer that operated on the Kootenay River in British Columbia and northwestern Montana from 1893 to 1898, with brief service on the Columbia River. Built in 1893 at Wasa, BC by the Upper Columbia Navigation & Tramway Co., Gwendoline was captained by Frank P. Armstrong, a key figure in the company. In 1893 or 1894, Armstrong navigated Gwendoline through the Baillie-Grohman canal to Columbia Lake and the Columbia River, making her one of only two steamboats to use the canal. She successfully transited it twice, unlike the North Star, which damaged the lock. In 1896, while operating between Canal Flats and Fort Steele, BC, Gwendoline was lengthened from 63.5 feet to 98 feet. In May 1897, she collided with another sternwheeler, Ruth, in Jennings Canyon. Ruth, carrying passengers and ore, lost control due to a log jamming her sternwheel, blocking the channel. Gwendoline, following close behind, struck Ruth, but no one was killed. Both vessels were salvaged by June 1898, though Ruth was beyond repair. By 1898, Armstrong partnered with Captain McCormack on the upper Kootenay River, with Gwendoline and North Star receiving 60% of freight receipts. However, by year’s end, steamboat traffic declined as railways took over, leading Gwendoline to be laid up at Jennings with two other sternwheelers until spring 1899. In 1898, Armstrong left for the Klondike Gold Rush, leaving Captain J.D. Miller in charge. Miller attempted to move Gwendoline by rail around Kootenai Falls but failed when the vessel tipped and fell ...