The Keller Ferry, historically the Clark Ferry, is a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

crossing on

Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (also called Lake Roosevelt) is the reservoir created in 1941 by the impoundment of the Columbia River by the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. It is named for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president during the ...

in the US state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The crossing carries State Route 21 between 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 ...

in Ferry County and

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

in Lincoln County. The ferry crossing has been in operation since the 1890s and under state control since 1930. During that time, five vessels have served the crossing, including the ''Martha S.'', which operated from 1948 to 2013, and the current ferry, the M/V ''Sanpoil''. The M/V ''Sanpoil'' is the only Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) owned and operated ferry in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

; the others are on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

Western Washington Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington State west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. ...

. This was the first ferry crossing operated by the state of Washington;

Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a public ferry system in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and operates 10 routes serving 20 terminals within Puget ...

did not begin operations on Puget Sound until 1951. The other fare-free public ferry in Eastern Washington, the Gifford–Inchelium ferry, is operated by the Colville Confederated Tribes. Hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. to midnight 7 days per week; the ride is approximately 8 minutes. The fare to ride is free.

Vessels

''Keller'', ''L. A. McLeod'' & ''San Poil''

Before the construction of the

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...

, the ''Keller'', a cable ferry, served the crossing, at the confluence of 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 ...

and the

Sanpoil River The Sanpoil River (also spelled San Poil) is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is named for the Sanpoil, the Interior Salish people who live along the river course. The name is from the Okanagan ...

. The ''Keller'' had an on-board motor to winch the boat across the river. The ''L. A. McLeod'', a Diesel powered side-wheeler, served the crossing from 1939 to 1944, a period which saw the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam and the formation of Lake Roosevelt. Between 1944 and 1948, the route was served by a barge called the ''San Poil'', which was pushed by a tugboat, the ''Ann of Wilbur''.

Martha S.

Launched in 1948, the ''Martha S.'', was powered by two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s making total 470

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

, and was 80 feet in length and 30 feet in beam. Its maximum capacity was 12 cars, or a single tractor-trailer truck alone, but it was unable to accommodate highway legal double tractor-trailer trucks. The ferry was in service from its launch until its retirement on Sunday, July 7, 2013. The vessel was named in honor of Martha Shain, the wife of State Highway Director Clarence Shain at the time it was put in service.

M/V ''Sanpoil''

The current Keller ferry, the M/V ''Sanpoil'', is 116 feet in length, and is designed to carry 20 passenger vehicles, two single tractor-trailer trucks and 9 passenger vehicles, or a double tractor-trailer truck and 8 passenger vehicles. It was christened, received a tribal blessing, and began service on August 14, 2013, after the ''Martha S.'' docks were refit to handle the larger replacement vessel. The name "Sanpoil" is an Anglicized version of the name of the native peoples of the surrounding area, and is the name of the river adjacent SR 21 to the north of the ferry. The project to acquire a replacement ferry for the ''Martha S.'' was funded by the Washington State Legislature during the 2011 session. The

Colville Confederated Tribes The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are federally recognized. Established in 1872, the reservation ...

contributed $2 million of the approximately $12 million cost of the new vessel. On November 16, 2011, WSDOT awarded a contract for construction of the replacement vessel with delivery slated for May 2013. Justification for replacing the ''Martha S.'' included replacement parts for it no longer being commercially manufactured, requiring them to be custom-made as needed. The M/V ''Sanpoil'' was shipped overland via truck from

Rainier, Oregon Rainier ( ) is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, Columbia County, Oregon, United States. The city's population was 1,895 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Rainier is on the south bank of the Columbia River across from Kelso, Washing ...

in March, 2013.

References

External links

*
Keller Ferry replacement website
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Keller Ferry , bridge signs = , upstream = Gifford–Inchelium Ferry , upstream signs = , downstream =