SS Keenora
The steamboat SS Keenora is propably the best-known and most loved of all Lake Winnipeg steamboats. The vessel began operations as a steamboat on Lake of the Woods in Ontario, where from she transported to Winnipeg, Manitoba and rebuilt. Currently retired from service, the Keenora is the mantelpiece of collection at the Marine Museum of Manitoba in Selkirk, Manitoba.
History
The steamboat Keenora was built in 1897 for passenger and cargo traffic along the Ontario's Lake of the Woods, where she served successfully for over a decade. When the railway line was built and the traffic volumes declined, and the vessel was sold to a consortium on Winnipeg lawyers. The Keenora was broken into pieces and transported to Winnipeg on a railroad flatcar in 1917.
Once reassembled in Winnipeg, she received an additional 30' (10m) extension of her hull, increaseing her overall length to 158 feet (41,8 metres). For a season she served as a floating dance hall in downtown Winnipeg, but was later assigned to cargo and passenger traffic on Lake Winnipeg and on Red River. A total of 65 passenger cabins were constructed, and a new machinery was installed. The machinery guaranteed a speed of 15 knots (27,8 km/h).
The regular route started from Winnipeg, with a turnaround point located at the northern end of Lake Winnipeg, at Warren Landing on the Big Mossy Point. From Warren Landing the passengers and cargo were transloaded onboard a smaller steamboat, which covered the last 30 kilometres (20 miles) to Norway House. The Keenora was clearly a too large vessel to enter the shallow Nelson River.
Her career ended in the 1960s when she could not meet the new maritime regulations. At first she was destined to be scrapped, but was salvaged to be the cornerstone of Marine Museum of Manitoba's collections.
Recommended reading
- Russell, Frances: Mistehay Sakahegan: The Great Lake, ISBN 1-896150-10-1 (Heartland Associates Publishing and Communications)