Ferry–Midway Border Crossing

The Ferry–Midway Border Crossing connects the towns of Curlew, Washington and Midway, British Columbia on the Canada–US border. Customs Road on the American side joins Dominion Street on the Canadian side.

Ferry–Midway Border Crossing
Canada Border Inspection Station at Midway, BC
Location
CountryUnited States; Canada
Location
  • Customs Road / Dominion Street
  • US Port: 1377 Customs Road, Curlew, WA 99118
  • Canadian Port: 100 Dominion Street, Midway BC V0H 1M0
Coordinates49°00′00″N 118°45′40″W / 49.000077°N 118.761091°W / 49.000077; -118.761091
Details
Opened1896
Hours9:00AM – 5:00PM
Website
US Canadian
U.S. Inspection Station – Ferry, Washington
MPSU.S. Border Inspection Stations MPS
NRHP reference No.14000611
Added to NRHPSeptember 10, 2014

Railways

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In January 1900, the rail head of the Columbia and Western Railway, a Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiary, reached Midway,[1] which would remain the western terminus for over a decade. In October 1905, the westward rail head of the Great Northern Railway (GN) from Curlew, Washington reached the border.[2] The GN track west of Curlew was abandoned in 1935,[3] eliminating this customs activity.

Canadian side

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In 1896, a customs postal collecting station was established. The next year, when a customs office assumed all customs activities, James Sutherland was the inaugural customs officer 1897–1899, until being suspended from duty. The Port of New Westminster provided administrative oversight, which transferred to the ports of Grand Forks in 1899, Greenwood in 1907, Grand Forks in 1924, and Nelson in 1936. During the earlier decades, the customs office was on the southwestern side of the road, immediately south of the Boundary Creek bridge. To commemorate a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1927, an oak tree was planted in front of that long demolished building.[4]

The present Canada border station was built in 1951.[citation needed]

US side

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US Border Inspection Station in Ferry, WA, 1999

After the arrival of the GN, the population of Ferry, Washington waned to become a ghost town. The current US border station, built in 1936, was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[citation needed]

The Curlew Border Patrol Station, which opened in December 2003, patrols 39 miles (63 km) of border in Ferry and Okanogan Counties.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Prospector". www.library.ubc.ca. January 20, 1900. p. 7.
  2. ^ "Daily News". www.library.ubc.ca. October 10, 1905. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Kettle Valley Railway". www.crowsnest-highway.ca. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  4. ^ Legg, Herbert (1962). Customs Services in Western Canada, 1867–1925. The Creston Review Ltd. pp. 170–171.
  5. ^ "Curlew Station". www.cbp.gov.