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Looking
Down on Boundary |
Boundary: BOOOM! Town
Situated
at the confluence of the Pend Oreille and the Columbia rivers in the
very northern-most part of Stevens County, the town of Boundary made its
mark. Boundary boomed in 1893 when D.C. Corbin brought in a fleet of 800
workmen, including many Chinese, to finish the railroad track from
Northport to Waneta B.C. At the same time there was a crew building the
Waneta bridge across the Pend Oreille River. The village grew in six
months to a thriving community with a population of 1,200-1,500!
"At that period the citizens led a strenuous life, and the place
gained a rather unenviable notoriety on account of its many dance halls,
saloons, gambling houses and resorts of immorality."(Statesmen
Examiner, unknown date). Reports say that Boundary had twelve saloons.
Other stories of how rowdy Boundary was, include a story of shots fired
through the window of the local store and the next morning, the memory
of juice running down the shelves from the wounds in the canned goods.
In the mornings after rough nights out on the town you could find socks
filled with two pounds of sand that had been used as primitive billy-clubs
the night before.
Boundary was in
the midst of the action, they housed prospectors on the way to the mines
in Nelson, B.C. and the Slocan Valley. Twice a week for fifteen years a
small river steamer "49’er" came up the river from Northport
, or in times of high water from Marcus to Revelstoke, B.C. Soon there
was such a demand for shipping grain and cargo that another boat, the
"Lyton", was added. In 1907 Joe Klass, owner of a hotel and
saloon, said in the hey-days of Boundary, "The people up here are
way are too busy making money to even think of hard times."
However, the boom only lasted six months and just as quick as they came,
they left, taking their business with them. Most of the buildings were
torn down and brought to the next boom town of Rossland, B.C. By 1905
Boundary’s population was a mere 65 people. The town was still a
railroad stop and housed a post office and a few lingering businesses.
One of these businesses was the Fort Shepard Hotel, built just across
the border from Boundary.
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High
times at the Boundary Hotel |
The Fort
Shepard Hotel was built during the railroad boom and housed everyone
from miners to school teachers. After the boom was over it stayed
dormant until prohibition. Since the Hotel was situated on the Canadian
side of the border it became a headquarters for the traffic of illegal
booze into the United States. The owner was nicknamed "Fort Shepard
John". After Prohibition the last hoorah of the hotel was during
the construction of the Waneta Dam in the late 1950’s. The hotel
housed construction workers and changed its name to the Hotel Atoll.
There was a sign over the door that said, "No women atoll, No
whiskey atoll, Not (a) Damn thing atoll. The Hotel Atoll." |
