Janni's Chimney
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Northport is a town in
Stevens County, Washington Stevens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington along the Canada–US border. At the 2020 census, its population was 46,445. As of July 2023, the population was estimated to be 48,837. The county seat and largest city is ...
, United States. The population was 297 at the 2020 census.


History

Northport began when railroad builder Daniel C. Corbin had agents purchase two wooded benches overlooking the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
from the federal government in 1892. Corbin had plans to extend his Spokane Falls and Northern Railway (S&FN) from Little Dalles, the town seven miles south, to the rich mining districts of southern
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. Northport would provide a railhead for two railroads into
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. At this time, ''The Kootenai Steamship Company'' riverboats provided service from Little Dalles to Revelstoke, B.C. After the S&FN reached Northport on Sept. 18, 1892, the riverboats ran from Northport to Revelstoke. Northport became an international port of entry in 1895. In March 1896 a major fire occurred in the business district. At least 16 businesses were destroyed or damaged. The north half of the
Colville Indian Reservation The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington (state), Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are List of federally recognized tribes in ...
, 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. In 1890, ores rich in copper, gold and silver were discovered in Canada at Red Mountain, near the present city of
Rossland, British Columbia Rossland is in the West Kootenay region of south central British Columbia. High in the Monashee Mountains, the city lies immediately east of the intersections of BC highways British Columbia Highway 3B, 3B and British Columbia Highway 22, 22. The f ...
. Mines were developed and the ore was laboriously shipped out by wagon on a rude road 17 miles (27.4 km) and ferried across the Columbia river to Northport and the S&FN. In January 1896, 174 horse teams hauled ore down the road in one week. 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 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 (54.9-meter) long passenger depot, the connection point of three railroads linking the supply center of Spokane to the mining districts of British Columbia. 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 1897. The smelter began operations in January 1898. Two hundred men were employed which soon increased to almost six hundred. 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. On June 23, 1898, an election was held to incorporate an area of the county with 1,500 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 $5,000 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. The US immigration inspector was located at Northport in 1900. At this time, the city was financed without property taxes but by licensing saloons, and by fines levied on gambling and courtesans. 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. 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. 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. Only a few businesses rebuilt and the once densely packed block 4 has remained mostly vacant ever since. 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.Northport Mining and Smelting Company, Manuscript Group 234, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho 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 (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999. Its three largest o ...
(ASARCO) in August 1922. ASARCO dismantled the works and the boom days were over. In 1925, in addition to the general depressed business conditions locally, the smelter at Trail, British Columbia, 20 miles (32.2 km) 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 The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
opened negotiations with Canada and the matter was referred 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. 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". The Trail Smelter case became "one of the most cited and fundamental cases for international environmental law". Northport was given its name since it was once the northernmost town on the S&FN.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , all of it land.


Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Northport has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Northport, Washington
/ref> The hottest temperature measured in Northport is during the
2021 Western North America heat wave The 2021 Western North America heat wave was an extreme heat wave that affected much of Western North America from late June through mid-July 2021. The heat wave affected Northern California, Idaho, Western Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in ...
in June. The coldest reading is from January 1909. The coldest daily maximum in Northport were two separate measurements, in 1902 and 1968. During the 1991–2020 set of normals, the average coldest maximum was relatively close to the normals at . Ice days are common in winter, with normals just below freezing. Warm nights are very rare. The warmest in recorded history is in August 1945. During a normal year, the warmest low is at a mild .


Demographics


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 295 people, 139 households, and 76 families living in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 168 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.2%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.3%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.7% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1% from other races, and 2% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 139 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.3% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age in the town was 48.5 years. 21% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.3% were from 25 to 44; 35.9% were from 45 to 64; and 18.3% were 65 years of age or older. The sexual makeup of the town was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 336 people, 151 households, and 83 families living in the town. The population density was 592.7 people per square mile (227.6/km2). There were 179 housing units at an average density of 315.8 per square mile (121.2/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.94%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.6% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.3% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 5.36% of the population. There were 151 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 25% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 22% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 100 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,719, and the median income for a family was $26,875. Males had a median income of $28,929 versus $16,000 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $11,679. About 15.9% of families and 27.7% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 38.5% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.


Janni's chimney

Peter Janni was born in Italy in 1874 and came to America to work on the railroad. Eventually he ended up in Northport and in 1923 purchased a limestone quarry south of Northport.N.L. Barlee, Gold Creeks and Ghost Towns of Northeastern Washington., Hancock House Publishers., 2004 Janni shipped limestone all over Washington from the quarry. The quarry was located in the center of the tetrahedrite mineralized zone of Northern Stevens County. Ore deposits in the district occur in "Vugs" or "Chimneys" usually narrow veins of galena with high silver content. In 1953, Janni's crew discovered a chimney of galena with silver, 6 feet by 5 feet (1.8 m by 1.5 m) on the second level of the quarry. They followed it down and shipped nearly forty tons of high grade galena to CM&S Company's lead refinery in nearby Trail. After following it down 15 feet (4.6 meters) Janni came and said: "cover the damn thing up !". Janni's men pleaded to follow the chimney further, but Janni refused, saying: "maybe someday we will dig her up again". Why he abandoned the chimney remains a mystery. According to some old timers in Northport, the rich chimney is still at the quarry buried under tons of limestone, located on the second level.


References

* *


External links

* Northport Historica
SocietyNorthport Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Towns in Stevens County, Washington Towns in Washington (state) Washington (state) populated places on the Columbia River 1898 establishments in Washington (state)