[3] Northport began when railroad builder Daniel C. Corbin had agents purchase two wooded benches overlooking the Columbia River from the federal government in 1892.

Corbin had plans to extend his Spokane Falls and Northern Railway (S&FN) from Little Dalles, the town seven miles south, to the rich mining districts of southern British Columbia.

[7][8] The north half of the Colville Indian Reservation, across the river from Northport, was opened to mining in February 1896.

[7][9] In 1890, ores rich in copper, gold and silver were discovered in Canada at Red Mountain, near the present city of Rossland, British Columbia.

Mines were developed and the ore was laboriously shipped out by wagon on a rude road 17 miles (27.4 km) and ferried across the Columbia river to Northport and the S&FN.

[11] The Red Mountain mines were now producing more ore than the smelter at Trail British Columbia could process.

Northport had limestone and rail connections for importing coke, coal and building materials and exporting the smelter matte to distant refineries.

D.C. Corbin donated the land on a bench overlooking the river north of town and construction began in August 1897.

Now, instead of the county collecting over $5,000 in local saloon fees, the new town could afford to improve the streets, build sidewalks, have a health officer, a fire department, a marshall and a jail.

[18] At this time, the city was financed without property taxes but by licensing saloons, and by fines levied on gambling and courtesans.

Times were hard, the population fell to 300, many businesses closed and the Northport State Bank became insolvent, unable to pay its depositors.

[26][27] At the end of the world war, demand for lead fell and unfavorable freight rates led the Northport smelter to close in 1921.

[28][27] In 1925, in addition to the general depressed business conditions locally, the smelter at Trail, British Columbia, 20 miles (32.2 km) up the river valley, doubled sulfur emissions.

A meeting of the local farmers led to the formation of a Citizens Protective Association and helped bring the situation to the attention of members of congress.

The US State Department opened negotiations with Canada and the matter was referred to The International Joint Commission.

In 1934 President Roosevelt pressed the case, leading to more studies and a Final Decision was arrived at on Mar 11, 1941 in which $438,000 was paid to compensate the farmers.

[33] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.58 square miles (1.50 km2), all of it land.

[35] The hottest temperature measured in Northport is 113 °F (45 °C) during the 2021 Western North America heat wave in June.

[41] Ore deposits in the district occur in "Vugs" or "Chimneys" usually narrow veins of galena with high silver content.

They followed it down and shipped nearly forty tons of high grade galena to CM&S Company's lead refinery in nearby Trail.

According to some old timers in Northport, the rich chimney is still at the quarry buried under tons of limestone, located on the second level.