Minto (sternwheeler)
Minto was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia from 1898 to 1954. In those years of service, Minto had steamed over 3.2 million kilometers serving the small communities on Arrow Lakes. Minto and her sister Moyie (which ran on Kootenay Lake) were the last sternwheelers to run in regularly scheduled passenger service in the Pacific Northwest. The "Minto" class of sailing dinghies is named after this vessel.
Design and Construction
Manufactured for the Stikine River service
Minto was one of three steamboats built of steel and wood that were intended for service on the Stikine River during the Klondike gold rush. The other vessels were Moyie and Tyrrell.The Canadian Pacific Railway which commissioned the vessels had hoped to develop an "All-Canada" route to the Yukon gold fields that bypassed the other routes, generally through Skagway, Dyea, or from St. Michael on the Bering Sea all the way up the long Yukon River. All the parts for these steamers were manufactured in Toronto, Ontario and shipped to the west coast of Canada for assembly.