The first steamer used on the upper Fraser River was the Enterprise. She was built in 1862 near Alexandria by James Trahey for her owners Captain Thomas Wright and Gustavus Blin Wright, who also were her operators. She ran between Soda Creek and Quesnel from 1863 until 1871 when the Wrights took her to Takla Landing for use in the Omineca Gold Rush. This voyage was to be her last and she was abandoned after she made the trip. The next steamboat used on the Soda Creek to Quesnel route was also built by Trahey for the Wrights. She was the Victoria, which was built in Quesnel and put into service in 1869. She served the district for seventeen years until she was berthed at Steamboat Landing near Alexandria.[1]
For ten years the area was without steamer service until the Charlotte was built by Alexander Watson for the North British Columbia Navigation Company in 1896. The N.B.C.N.C was organized by Senator James Reid of Quesnel, Captain John Irving of Victoria and Stephen Tingley of Ashcroft. Tingley, at this time had been the owner of the BC Express Company for eight years, having been the most famous of the "bull whips" of the Cariboo Road. They hired Captain Frank Odin to pilot her. He was her captain until 1906, when Captain Owen Forrester Browne became her pilot.[2] The Charlotte was the only steamer on the upper Fraser until 1909 when it was announced the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway would be crossing the Fraser River at Fort George. The Quesnel was launched by Telesphore Marion, a pioneer merchant from the town of the same name. It would become the fourth sternwheeler to work the upper Fraser and would also be the last. Her pilot was Captain DA Foster.[3]
The Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company sternwheelers
The Nechacco (which would later be renamed the Chilco shown in picture at top of page) joined the Charlotte and the Quesnel in May 1909. She was built by Donald McPhee for the Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company of South Fort George and was piloted by Captain John Bonser, an experienced swiftwater pilot from the Skeena River. The Nechacco would be the first sternwheeler to navigate the treacherous Grand Canyon of the Fraser. The Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company then built the Fort Fraser which pioneered the route to Tête Jaune Cache in 1910 and like the Chilco, she also made several trips on the Nechako River for Frank Swannell that summer. She would also be piloted by Captain Bonser, with Captain George Ritchie taking command of the Chilco for the latter part of the 1910 season of navigation. Unfortunately the Chilco would be lost in April 1911, torn apart in the icy waters of the Fraser near the Cottonwood Canyon. To compete against the BC Express Company's sternwheelers, the Fort George Lumber and Trading Company built a third sternwheeler, again by Donald McPhee in 1910, the Chilcotin. She was piloted by Captain Arthur Frances Dogherty.[1]
The BC Express Company, (which had been formerly known as Barnard's Express) had been freighting in the area since the 1860s during the Cariboo Gold Rush. They were also aware of the great changes that the railway would bring to this sparsely populated area. Thousands of construction workers would soon be working in-between Tête Jaune Cache and Fort George and millions of acres of land would be opened for settlement. The owner of the BC Express Company was now Charles Vance Millar who had purchased the company from Stephen Tingley in 1897. Millar decided to build two large and very luxurious steamers to accommodate the growing demand. Both were built at Soda Creek by Alexander Watson Junior, the son of the man who had built the Charlotte. The first company sternwheeler was launched in May 1910. It was named the BX and was piloted by Captain Owen Forrester Browne. She had stateroom accommodation for seventy and was also licensed to carry sixty deck passengers. Her paddlewheel was covered, so there was no backsplash, and a fine view could be enjoyed from the stern, which was where the ladies cabin was located. The BX boasted hot and cold running water and steam heat. She soon became the preferred steamer for passenger service and also won the government mail contract. Premier Richard McBride traveled on the BX in her sumptuous bridal suite, which featured, among other luxuries, a double brass bed with a silk eiderdown.[4] She was the only steamer that could advertise a bi-weekly service from Soda Creek to Fort George. On Sunday and Wednesday mornings, she would leave Soda Creek at the break of dawn, usually 3am, and would reach Quesnel around noon. After unloading the mail and supplies for that town she would continue upriver until dark, tying up at a woodpile where her crew would have an opportunity to load more fuel aboard. This was called wooding up and it was a common activity. Most sternwheelers burnt upwards of four cords of wood an hour when they were travelling upstream and they could only carry three. She would arrive in Fort George the next day, usually around 11am. Her return trips downriver were far swifter, she would leave Fort George at 7am on Tuesdays and Saturdays, arriving in Soda Creek by 4;30pm of the same day.
For the 1911 season of navigation, the BC Express Company built a second sternwheeler, the BC Express which was nearly identical to the BX, only slightly smaller and lacking the covered paddlewheel. Her pilot was Captain Joseph P Bucey. The BC Express worked the route from Fort George to Tête Jaune Cache until 1913 and then joined her sister ship, the BX, on the Soda Creek to Fort George route, where they both worked on the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. In 1915, only the BX worked on the Fraser, and in '16 and '17 there were none at all. The BX returned to the river in 1918, still under Captain Browne, and was joined, when the need arose, by the BC Express.
BX sunk at Woodpecker (1919)
Then, in August 1919, the BX struck a reef named "Woodpecker" and sank in the Fort George Canyon while carrying 100 tons of concrete. Her sister ship towed her back to Quesnel for salvage but she never sailed again.[5][6]
The Central Fort George townsite promoter, George Hammond, started the Fort George Lake and River Transportation Company and built the tenth sternwheeler, the Robert C Hammond. It was built so that Hammond's claim to potential buyers that his community had sternwheeler service could be based on fact.[7] Hammond had tried to hire the BC Express boats to visit his community but unfortunately, the Nechako River was often too low for these boats to navigate.[8]
When the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway reached Tête Jaune Cache in 1912, they were able to use their own sternwheelers to transport workers and supplies up and down the river. The Operator and the Conveyor had worked on the Skeena River and were dismantled at Victoria. Their machinery and boilers were hauled up by rail to Jasper, Alberta and then hauled by mule wagon to Tête Jaune Cache where they were reassembled for use on the stretch of the river between there and Fort George. Their captains were Captain 'Con' Myers and Captain Jack Shannon, respectively. When their work was completed their machinery was recycled and the hulls were left at the shore of the Fraser River near Prince George.[9]
The end of an era
The Quesnel was the last sternwheeler on the upper Fraser, Captain Foster piloted her for the last time in April 1921 and then she was wrecked on the rocks of the Fort George Canyon.[1]
1 2 3 Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. pp.47–50. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
↑ Koppel, Tom (1995). Kanaka:The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Whitecap Books. p.103. ISBN1-55110-295-1.
↑ Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. p.50. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
↑ West, Willis (1985). Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC. Heritage House. p.44. ISBN0-919214-68-1.
↑ Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. p.59. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
↑ Koppel, Tom (1995). Kanaka:The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Whitecap Books. p.104. ISBN1-55110-295-1.
↑ West, Willis (1985). Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC. Heritage House. p.66. ISBN0-919214-68-1.
↑ Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. pp.54–5. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
↑ Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. pp.51–3. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
References and further reading
Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
Christensen, Bev (1989). Prince George: Rivers, Railways and Timber. Windsor Publications. ISBN0-89781-266-2.
West, Willis (1985). Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC. Heritage House. ISBN0-919214-68-1.
Barnard's Express, later known as the British Columbia Express Company or BX, was a pioneer transportation company that served the Cariboo and Fraser-Fort George regions in British Columbia, Canada from 1861 until 1921.
Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation. Soda Creek Indian Reserve No. 1 is located on the left (E) bank of the Fraser River, one mile south of the Soda Creek BCR (CN) station, 431.10 ha. 52°19′00″N122°16′00″W
Owen Forrester Browne was a paddle steamer captain in British Columbia, and Alberta, Canada. He was born in New Westminster and worked on the lower Fraser and Yukon River sternwheelers before coming to the upper Fraser River in the early 1900s.
The Enterprise was a passenger and freight sternwheeler that was built for service on the Soda Creek to Quesnel route on the upper Fraser River in British Columbia. It was built at Four Mile Creek near Alexandria by pioneer shipbuilder James Trahey of Victoria for Gustavus Blin-Wright and Captain Thomas Wright and was put into service in the spring of 1863. Her captain was JW Doane. The Enterprise was the first of twelve sternwheelers that would work on this section of the Fraser from 1863 to 1921. Though she wasn’t large, she was a wonderful example of the early craft of shipbuilding. All of the lumber she was built from was cut by hand and her boiler and engines had been brought to the building site at Four Mile packed by mule via the wagon road from Port Douglas, 300 miles away.
Victoria was a passenger and freight sternwheeler that was built for service on the Soda Creek to Quesnel route on the upper Fraser River in British Columbia. She was built at Quesnel by pioneer shipbuilder James Trahey of Victoria for Gustavus Blin-Wright and Captain Thomas Wright and was put into service in the spring of 1869 to augment the service of Enterprise also built by Trahey for the Wrights. Although the Victoria's hull was new, her engines and boiler had originally been in the Prince of Wales from Lillooet Lake.
The Charlotte sternwheeler was built in 1896 by Alexander Watson for the Northern British Columbia Navigation Company. The partners of the NBCNC were Stephen Tingley, Senator James Reid and John Irving. She was launched on August 3, 1896 and christened by James Reid's wife after whom she'd been named.
Quesnel was a sternwheeler first launched in May 1909 at Quesnel, British Columbia to serve the Soda Creek to Fort George route of the upper Fraser River.
The Nechacco sternwheeler was built for service on the Soda Creek to Fort George route on the upper Fraser River in British Columbia. She was owned by the Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company. The partners in this company were Nick Clark and Russel Peden of South Fort George, who operated a sawmill there. Nick Clark also owned the lots in that townsite and was offering them up for sale. The new steamer was intended to bring prospective property buyers to Fort George and to furnish them with supplies.
The Fort Fraser was a small sternwheeler owned by the Fort George Lumber and Transportation Company a partnership originally held by Nick Clarke and Russell Peden from the Fort George town-site of South Fort George. The Fort Fraser was intended to be a small prospecting craft that could service not only the Soda Creek to Fort George section of the upper Fraser River but also the Nechako River and some of its tributaries, enabling her to serve her namesake town of Fort Fraser.
The sternwheeler Chilcotin was built for the Soda Creek to Fort George route of the upper Fraser River. She was built by shipbuilder Donald McPhee for the Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company, which was a partnership held by Nick Clarke and Russell Peden of the South Fort George town-site of Fort George. Chilcotin was the largest of the company's three sternwheelers and was intended to run as competition against the BC Express Company's new luxury sternwheeler, BX. Chilcotin had main, promenade and Texas decks, hot and cold running water and stateroom accommodation for fifty.
The Robert C Hammond was the last sternwheeler built for service on the upper Fraser and Nechako Rivers. She was owned by the Fort George Lake and River Transportation Company, a partnership of George Hammond and his brother. She was launched at the Central Fort George town-site of Fort George on May 22, 1913. She was built so that George Hammond, the promoter of Central Fort George, could claim that his community had steamer service. Central Fort George was on the Nechako River and the large sternwheelers owned by the BC Express Company, despite a $50 per trip inducement, could rarely call there, as there often were sandbars unless the water was very high. The rival sternwheelers of the South Fort George town-site owned by the Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company were not interested in helping George Hammond promote Central.
The Conveyor was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River by Foley, Welch and Stewart for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The other four were the Operator, the Skeena, the Distributor and the Omineca. Three of these, the Conveyor, the Operator and the Distributor were built at Victoria, British Columbia in 1908 by Alexander Watson Jr.
The BX sternwheeler was the first of two river steamers built for service on the upper Fraser River by the BC Express Company during the busy era of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway construction. The BX was built at Soda Creek in early 1910 by Alexander Watson Jr, of Victoria, who was one of British Columbia's foremost shipbuilders and the son of the man who had built the Charlotte. The BC Express Company also hired Captain Owen Forrester Browne to be the master of the BX as he was the most experienced upper Fraser River pilot.
The Operator sternwheeler was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River by Foley, Welch and Stewart for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The other four were the Conveyor, the Skeena, the Distributor and the Omineca. Three of these, the Conveyor, the Operator and the Distributor were built at Victoria, British Columbia, in 1908 by Alexander Watson Jr.
The BC Express was a stern wheel paddle steamer (sternwheeler) that operated on the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada, from 1912 to 1919. The BC Express was built for the BC Express Company by Alexander Watson, Jr to work on the upper Fraser River between Tête Jaune Cache and Fort George during the busy years of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway construction. The BC Express Company hired Captain Joseph Bucey, an experienced Skeena River pilot, to be her master.
Gustavus Blin Wright was a pioneer roadbuilder and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. His biggest achievement was building the Old Cariboo Road to the Cariboo gold fields, from Lillooet to Fort Alexandria, but he was also a partner in a freighting firm that operated on the Douglas Road, he ran a toll bridge at Bridge River, near Lillooet, and built part of the road from Quesnel to Barkerville. He was also the original owner of the town of 70 Mile House.
The Skeena sternwheeler was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River by Foley, Welch and Stewart for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from 1909 until 1911. She was built at Robertson's yard in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, in 1908. The other four were the Conveyor, the Operator, the Distributor and the Omineca. Three of these, the Conveyor, the Operator and the Distributor were built at Victoria, British Columbia in 1908 by Alexander Watson Jr.
John Henry Bonser was a steamship captain from Oregon, United States and British Columbia, Canada. He piloted dozens of sternwheelers over his 40-year-long career and pioneered many rivers in the Pacific Northwest.
William Irving was a steamship captain and entrepreneur in Oregon, US and British Columbia, Canada. The Irvington neighborhood in Portland, Oregon is named in his honor and in New Westminster, British Columbia his home, "Irving House", is now a heritage site. He was one of the earliest pioneers of steamer travel in the Pacific Northwest and is remembered as one of the most successful and popular captains of the era.
The Inlander was a sternwheeler that worked on the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada from 1910 until 1912. She was owned by the Prince Rupert and Skeena River Navigation Company which was a syndicate of Skeena River businessmen who planned to use the Inlander as a passenger and freight steamer during the busy years of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway construction.
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