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Northport 1916

Northport began when railroad builder Daniel C. Corbin had agents purchase two wooded benches overlooking the Columbia River from the federal government in 1892. Corbin had plans to extend his Spokane Falls and Northern railroad from Little Dalles, the town seven miles south, to the rich mining districts of southern British Columbia. Northport would provide a railhead for two railroads into Canada. [1]

At this time, The Kootenai Steamship Company riverboats provided service from Little Dalles to Revelstoke, B. C. After the Spokane Falls and Northern railroad reached Northport on Sept. 18, 1892, the riverboats ran from Northport to Revelstoke.[2]

Northport became an international port of entry in 1895.[3]

In March of 1896 a major fire occured in the business district. At least 16 businesses were destroyed or damaged.[4][5]

The north half of the Colville Indian Reservation, across the river from Northport, was opened to mining in February 1896. Miners and prospectors flooded into the area and came into town to record their claims, get supplies and entertain themselves. [6],[7]

In 1890, ores rich in copper, gold and silver were discovered in Canada at Red Mountain, near the present city of Rossland, British Columbia. Mines were developed and the ore was laboriously shipped out by wagon on a rude road 17 miles and ferried across the Columbia river to Northport and the Spokane Falls and Northern railway. In January 1896, 170 four horse teams hauled ore down the road in one week.[8] The need for rail transportation was great and D. C. Corbin set about obtaining approvals and charters to fill the need. Construction began on the American side in May of 1896. A ferry was built at Northport to carry engines and cars across the Columbia River until a bridge could be built. The Columbia and Red Mountain railroad began service in December. The bridge over the Columbia River was begun in early spring 1897 and completed in October. Northport was now a busy railway center boasting a two story 180 foot long passenger depot, the connection point of three railroads linking the supply center of Spokane to the mining districts of British Columbia.[9]

The Red Mountain mines were now producing more ore than the smelter at Trail British Columbia could process. The mine owners, mostly Americans, wanted another smelter. Northport had limestone and rail connections for importing coke, coal and building materials and exporting the smelter matte to distant refineries. D. C. Corbin donated the land on a bench overlooking the river north of town and construction began in August of 1897. The smelter began operations in January 1898. Two hundred men were employed which soon increased to almost six hundred.[10],[11],[12]

On May 3,1898 another major fire reduced to ashes the entire business district and the red light district, more than three city blocks. The city was quickly rebuilt.[13],[14]

On June 23, 1898 an election was held to incorporate an area of the county with 1500 inhabitants as the "City of Northport", and to elect a mayor and city council. Incorporation passed 228 for, 5 against. Now, instead of the county collecting over $5000 in local saloon fees, the new town could afford to improve the streets, build sidewalks, have a health officer, a fire department, a marshall and a jail.[15]

The US immigration inspector was located at Northport in 1900.[16]

At this time, the city was financed without property taxes but by licensing saloons, and by fines levied on gambling and courtesans.[17]

In these first years, the smelter mostly treated the copper and gold ores from the LeRoi mine near Rossland, B. C., but in 1906 the LeRoi contracted the Trail, B. C. smelter to treat its ores and the Northport smelter gradually ceased operations, shipping the last matte in May 1911.[18]

After the smelter was idled, things looked bleak for Northport. Times were hard, the population fell to 300, many businesses closed and the Northport State Bank became insolvent, unable to pay its depositors.[19],[20]

On July 22, 1914, Northport suffered another major fire. Blocks 3 and 4 were destroyed. This included most of the business district, a warehouse and the Great Northern train depot.[21],[22] Only a few businesses rebuilt and the once densely packed block 4 has remained mostly vacant ever since.[23]

Then, in September 1915, the Northport Smelting and Refining Co. was purchased by the Hercules Mining Co. and the Tamarack and Custer Consolidated Mining Co. The smelter was renovated to treat lead ores, and began operations March 12, 1916.[24],[25]

At the end of the world war, demand for lead fell and unfavorable freight rates led the Northport smelter to close in 1921. The plant was sold to the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) in August 1922. ASARCO dismantled the works and the boom days were over.[26],[27]

In 1925,in addition to the general depressed business conditions locally, the smelter at Trail, British Columbia, 20 miles up the river valley, doubled sulfur emissions. The toxic smoke drifted down the river valley to the United States. Trees died, crops withered and cattle sickened. A meeting of the local farmers led to the formation of a Citizens Protective Association and helped bring the situation to the attention of members of congress. The US State Department opened negotiations with Canada and the matter was refered to The International Joint Commission. It was the first case of air pollution to come before an international tribunal. Negotiations dragged on for years. In 1934 President Roosevelt pressed the case leading to more studies and a Final Decision was arrived at on Mar 11, 1941 in which $438,000 was paid to compensate the farmers. Individual farmers who had made claims received an amount that was only a small fraction of their losses.[28],[29]

The Tribunal declared that “no state has the right to use or permit the use of its territory in such a manner as to cause injury by fumes in or to the territory of another or the properties or persons therein, when the case is of serious consequence”.[30] The Trail Smelter case became "one of the most cited and fundamental cases for international environmental law".[31]

  1. ^ Fahey, John. Inland Empire, D. C. Corbin and Spokane, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1965, p119
  2. ^ An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904, p138
  3. ^ An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904, p149
  4. ^ An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904, p143
  5. ^ Northport Pioneers,Northport over Forty Club, Statesman-Examiner, 1981, Colville, WA, p22
  6. ^ An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904, p143
  7. ^ The Northport News, Northport,Washington, 1896-03-05, "Mining Locations"
  8. ^ The Northport News, Northport,Washington,1896-01-23
  9. ^ Fahey, John. Inland Empire, D. C. Corbin and Spokane, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1965, pp161-164
  10. ^ Fahey, John. Inland Empire, D. C. Corbin and Spokane, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1965, pp. 175,176
  11. ^ An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904, p144
  12. ^ The Lotze Family of Onion Creek, Washington, Anna Marie Lotze Reeves, Gray Dog Press, Spokane,WA, 2010, p75
  13. ^ The Northport News, Northport,Washington, 1898-05-05, 1898-05-12
  14. ^ The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 1898-05-04
  15. ^ The Northport News, Northport,Washington, 1898-06-08
  16. ^ An Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington, Western Historical Publishers, 1904, p146
  17. ^ The Northport News, Northport,Washington, 1901-04-17
  18. ^ Northport Mining and Smelting Company, Manuscript Group 234, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Manuscripts/dmginv/mg234.htm
  19. ^ The Lotze Family of Onion Creek, Washington, Anna Marie Lotze Reeves, Gray Dog Press, Spokane,WA, p78
  20. ^ Northport over Forty Club, Northport Pioneers, Statesman-Examiner, 1981, Colville, WA, p29
  21. ^ The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, 1914-07-23
  22. ^ Spokane Daily Chronicle, Spokane, WA, 1914-07-24
  23. ^ Sanborn Map Co.,New York, Northport,Washington, February 1918, August 1929
  24. ^ The Northport News, Northport,Washington, 1922-08-18 "Smelter History Here from the Beginning to Now"
  25. ^ Northport Mining and Smelting Company, Manuscript Group 234, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho
  26. ^ The Lotze Family of Onion Creek, Washington Anna Marie Lotze Reeves, Gray Dog Press, Spokane,WA p 79
  27. ^ Northport Mining and Smelting Company, Manuscript Group 234, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho
  28. ^ The Lotze Family of Onion Creek, Washington Anna Marie Lotze Reeves, Gray Dog Press, Spokane,WA, p100
  29. ^ The Trail Smelter Case: International Air Pollution in the Columbia Valley, Keith A. Murray, BC Studies, no. 15, Autumn 1972 https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/download/757/799
  30. ^ Trail Smelter Arbitration, U.S.-Canada, Decision, March 11th, 1941, Reports of International Arbitral Awards, Vol. 3 1938-1982.
  31. ^ An International Environmental Law case study: The Trail Smelter Arbitration, Catherine Prunella, International Pollution Issues, City University of New York, December 2014 https://intlpollution.commons.gc.cuny.edu/an-international-environmental-law-case-study-the-trail-smelter-arbitration/
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