River Boats on the Missouri

River Boats on the Missouri. . , The first steamboat to reach the upper Missouri was the American Fur Company's Yellow Stone, which arrived at Fort Union in 1832. Nearly 30 years later, steamers began reaching Fort Benton, Montana, the head of navigation on the Missouri. From then until the late 1880s, the upper river was heavily traveled, serving Montana's fur traders and gold miners. The design of steamboats evolved during the 19th Century, resulting in fast, flat-bottomed vessels that could travel in only a few feet of water. By 1888, with the building of the railroad to central Montana, the earlier, large steamboats had disappeared from these waters. Around 1900 local trade revived the river business, featuring smaller, steam-powered boats and boats powered with internal combustion engines; they continued to operate into the 1930s. The arrival of the railroad at Washburn in 1901 transformed the town overnight from an isolated river landing to a small transportation center. , By 1902 a grain elevator was built on the high river bank. Bulk grain and freight were easily transported between the elevator and riverboats. Favorable freight rates over the Soo Line allowed grain to be shipped to Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota. , Bismarck's Isaac P. Baker began operating out of Washburn with a fleet of small steam and gasoline powered boats in 1902. Baker also helped finance a series of riverside grain elevators that extended almost as far west as Williston. He was thus able to keep his river fleet, operated by veterans such as Captain Grant Marsh, functioning six months of each year when the crops were good. Washburn's original river elevator burned around 1905, was rebuilt, and continued in use until 1929. At that time the river business had all but died, and the elevator was demolished.