S.S. Moyie - Front Street Waterfront
The S.S. Moyie is the oldest intact passenger sternwheeler in the world and a National Historic Site. The S.S. Moyie was launched on December 7, 1898. Its first job was to meet the Crow´s Nest Pass Railway from southern Alberta to Kootenay Landing at the southern end of Kootenay Lake and bring its passengers to Nelson. It continued this run until 1906 when the faster SS Kuskanook took over.
After that it travelled all over Kootenay Lake and played a very important role in the development of Kaslo and the surrounding area. The S.S. Moyie is one of the most significant preserved steam passenger vessels in North America. When the Moyie was retired in 1957, after a 59-year career with the Canadian Pacific Railway´s BC Lake and River Service, she was the last operating passenger sternwheeler in Canada. The S.S. Moyie has been lovingly restored and preserved through the efforts of the Kootenay Lake Historical Society. It is open for tours from mid May to mid October.
From the Historical Walking Tour of Kaslo
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The S.S. Moyie is a late nineteenth-century steam-propelled sternwheeler located on the south shore of Kaslo Bay on Kootenay Lake in British Columbia. She has been in dry dock since 1958. The additional structures of the S.S. Kuskanook Saloon, the Mirror Lake Post Office, the miner's cabin, the caboose and visitor centre, as well as the historic collections located throughout the site are included on the Kaslo Community Heritage Register.
HERITAGE VALUE
The S.S. Moyie is valued because she is the oldest intact Canadian-built passenger sternwheeler, and because of the significant role played by such vessels in the opening up and development of the interior of British Columbia. The heritage value of this site resides in its historical associations, in the physical properties of the vessel itself, and in the collections of historical items and artifacts housed within the vessel.
Value is added to this historic place by the presence of several structures that represent the importance of transportation, communication, and mining in the early twentieth century in the Kootenay region. The S.S. Kuskanook ladies' saloon, built in 1906, emphasizes the importance of passenger travel and symbolizes the increased need for sternwheeler transportation on Kootenay Lake at that time. The Mirror Lake Post Office, with its original mail slot and small scale, demonstrates the communication methods of the 1900s in the Kootenays. The miner's cabin, built by Matt Oledo in 1906, has value because it illustrates the living conditions of prospectors in the area and contrasts with the conditions present on the sternwheelers. The caboose is valued because it represents the connection of goods and passenger transportation between railway and sternwheelers. The visitor centre provides valuable context and information, and contributes to the welcoming atmosphere of this historic site.
From the Village of Kaslo