SS Keenora

The steamboat SS Keenora is probably 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 was 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 ran successfully for over a decade, serving isolated communities on the lake as distant as Rainy River. When the Ontario and Rainy River Railway was built in 1901 traffic volumes began to decline, following the takeover of this railway by Canadian Northern Railway in 1915, the vessel was sold to a consortium of Winnipeg lawyers. The Keenora was dismantled and transported in sections to Winnipeg on railroad flatcars in 1917.

Once reassembled in Winnipeg, she received an additional 30' (10m) extension on her hull, increasing her overall length to 158 feet (41,8 m). 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 transferred to a smaller steamboat, which covered the last 30 km 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)