MOVING HISTORY FORWARD: Early freight on the St. Joe River

There was no argument about the startling beauty of the St. Joe River. The question was, how to exploit the riches — timber and minerals — surrounding this 140-mile-long waterway when only the lower 20 miles are deep enough to navigate.

In 1887, Joe Fisher, along with brothers John, Jesse and Hogue, responded to the increasing upstream logging of prized timber by building a sawmill in St. Maries. As a result, much-needed lumber became available locally, arresting the need to go to Fredrick Post’s mill in Post Falls for building material.

The Fisher mill provided lumber for the new Chatcolet Bridge and the docks at St. Maries. Also, lumber was now available for building new homes. Eugene Gay and Hale Daggett, newly arrived homesteaders, built homes for the purpose of raising families. With young families starting to take root, St. Maries now had the stuff needed to become competition for Coeur d’Alene, far up the lake.

With the increase in homesteads and families, there soon became a growing need to transport freight. Joe Fisher obtained a freight barge, which came to be called the Michigan. It would not be rated a “thing of beauty,” with its pointed bow and squared off stern. It was long and wide. It was propelled by a small steam engine that turned a propeller, moving the barge slowly upstream.

The Michigan contained a large pilot house, a kitchen and a small room, which served as sleeping quarters for the crew. Extending aft was a large open deck which could be covered to protect perishables from bad weather.

Over the years, many future skippers off the soon-to-be large fleet of lake steamers would first learn their trade by serving on the Michigan. Famous lake steamboat captains like Eli and Levi Laird, Alfred Arnold and David B. Dickerson were some of the trainees that went from the Michigan to bigger and better boats on Lake Coeur d’Alene and the local rivers.

On weekends, the Michigan’s deck was swept clean and she became an excursion boat for sightseers, party goers and picnickers to better enjoy the beauty of the local waterways. Dances were frequent on the deck.

Joe Fisher became as close as anyone to being the “Founding Father” of St. Maries. He went on to become the town’s first postmaster and to build and manage the first general store and the Mountain View Hotel.

The information above was obtained from a book loaned to me by the author’s nephew, Greg Thorhaug, who grew up in St. Maries. Thorhaug also serves on the MoNI Board of Directors. The book, "Pioneer Days on the Shadowy St. Joe" by Orland A. Scott, is now out of print.

The museum gift shop carries several other books on the history of the St. Joe River, including the recently published "St. Maries Scrapbook" by George Currier. Hours are Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct 31. From then until April 1, the exhibit hall is closed, however, the office will remain open.