Historic Steamboat Jean Moved To New Site New Lease May Allow Tours, Possible Commercial Activity On Steamer

It took three jet boats, three trucks and five hours to move the old steamboat Jean to a new berth at the Chief Looking Glass Marina on the Snake River.

The 168-foot long sternwheeler went up and down the Snake for many years, but has been a white elephant since it was taken out of service.

The Jean was moored at Hells Gate State Park at Lewiston for 18 years, until the Idaho State Historical Society gave up its restoration hopes and put the boat up for bid.

Howard Winroth and Elmer Earl were third in line with a bid of $5,001, but the first two buyers defaulted and they got the boat.

“We bought it for a toy for the price of a Jet Ski, and we’d been a lot better off if we’d bought the Jet Ski,” said Earl, a retired river boat pilot.

They moved the boat upstream to Mulberry Beach last fall without the blessing of the Washington Department of Ecology, which tried for months to get the ship moved.

This week the Asotin City Council held a hurry-up meeting to approve a $1 per year lease at the marina. Then came the move.

The engines and other operating gear are long gone, and the 350-ton steamer had to be nudged and pulled along the river. Two jet boats did most of the moving, but lost their grip near the marina’s dike. The boat settled into a mud bank, and didn’t budge for a while.

Tow trucks and cable finally got the steamer loose, although the Jean still managed to topple a few pilings and take out a dock before reaching what could be her final resting place.

A new lease arrangement is in the works to allow fund-raisers, tours and possibly commercial activity on the steamer. A California couple expressed an interest in opening a restaurant.

Valerie Earl said her dream is to turn the Jean into an art gallery, but her father’s is to make it a community center.

They will accept donations and volunteers to help with restoration.

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