Hudson's Bay Gristmill Site on Colville River - Kettle Falls, WA
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 48° 35.673 W 118° 03.533
11U E 421924 N 5382926
This is the site of the earliest flour mill to be erected in Washington, situated nearby Fort Colvile, the earliest settlement in the area.
Waymark Code: WMJAWQ
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2013
Views: 1
In about 1826 the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), British fur traders, set up Fort Colvile on a point next to Kettle Falls (the waterfall - the town did not yet exist) on the Columbia River and began to raise vegetables and grow grain to supply itself and other distant trading posts. Finding an adequate source of power in the Colville River at Meyers Falls, they proceeded to erect a gristmill in about 1830. It was built by a French-Canadian named Lapierre and rebuilt in about 1843 by chief factor Archibald McDonald (1771-1841). This gristmill for many years produced flour for HBC posts and, eventually, US Government outposts, as well.
Interestingly, this early use of the Colville River, followed by a hydroelectric project on the river in 1903 make the Colville River the oldest source of water power in continual use west of the Mississippi River.
In 1860 the Canada-US border was established on the 49th parallel. With this, the HBC found themselves in US territory and subject to tariffs when shipping goods to and from Canada. To alleviate this situation the HBC moved their operations to a new post just north of the border at Fort Shepherd, leaving the gristmill behind. The HBC officially ended occupation of Fort Colvile on June 8, 1871. Now in American hands the mill continued to supply settlers and the US Military as far away as Fort Spokane for many more years; at least until 1903 when the first hydroelectric station at Meyers Falls was installed.
The gristmill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 12, 1982.