The Scheibner Sawmill in Northrup Canyon

The Scheibner Brothers in Northrup Canyon also ran a pre-industrial age sawmill on Northrup Creek around the year 1900. Original Steamboat Rock pioneer William Fleet worked as a millwright, helping with the design, implementation and upkeep of the Scheibner watermill.

Charles Scheibner and William Fleet, along with one other gentleman, would back up the creek at night with a dike, creating a small pond. In the morning they would run the water down a long sluice that would turn a water wheel and power the saw. They would saw until the water ran out. It was in this way that many of the pioneers around the area obtained lumber, with some making incredible journeys by horse and wagon to purchase building materials.

The famous Steamboat Rock School was made of lumber from the Scheibner sawmill, as well as most of the buildings at the old homestead in the back of Northrup Canyon.

Unfortunately, the Scheibners weren't the only people that relied on Northrup Creek for their livelihood, and eventually the brothers were sued by neighbors over water rights and lost in court. The Scheibners were ordered to remove the watermill, and the sawmill at Northrup Canyon faded into obscurity.

By J. Kemble, Them Dam Writers online, image courtesy Coulee Pioneer Museum