- Steamboats of the Upper Fraser River
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thumb|right|220px|Chilco" and crew with Frank Swannell 's workers (1910)]Twelve paddlewheel steamboats plied the upper
Fraser River inBritish Columbia from 1863 until 1921. They were used for a variety of purposes: working on railroad construction, delivering mail, promoting real estate in infant townsites and bringing settlers in to a new frontier. They served the towns of Quesnel,Barkerville and Fort George. Some only worked the Fraser fromSoda Creek to Quesnel, while others went all the way toTête Jaune Cache or took theNechako River and servedFort Fraser and beyond.Pioneer sternwheelers - the Wright boats
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 toTakla Landing for use in theOmineca 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.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=47-50]The "Charlotte" and the "Quesnel"
Charlotte" at Quesnel (1898)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 theCariboo Road . They hired Captain Frank Odin to pilot her. He was her captain until 1906, when CaptainOwen Forrester Browne became her pilot.cite book |last=Koppel |first=Tom |title=Kanaka:The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest|year=1995|publisher=Whitecap Books|isbn=1-55110-295-1|pages=103] The "Charlotte" was the only steamer on the upper Fraser until 1909 when it was announced the theGrand 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.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=50]The Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company sternwheelers
"Fort Fraser" (1911)South Fort George and was piloted by Captain John Bonser, an experienced swiftwater pilot from theSkeena River . The "Nechacco" would be the first sternwheeler to navigate the treacherousGrand 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 forFrank 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 AF Doherty.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=50]The BC Express Company's sternwheelers
"BX" in Fort George Canyon (1911)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 amd Fort George and millions of acres of land would be opened for settlement. The owner of the BC Express Company was nowCharles 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 licenced 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. PremierRichard McBride traveled on the "BX" in her sumptuous bridal suit, which featured, among other luxuries, a double brass bed with a silk eiderdown.cite book |last=West |first=Willis|title=Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC|year=1985|publisher=Heritage House|isbn=0-919214-68-1|pages=44] 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.
"BC Express" (1913)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".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.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=59] cite book |last=Koppel |first=Tom |title=Kanaka:The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest|year=1995|publisher=Whitecap Books|isbn=1-55110-295-1|pages=104]George Hammond's sternwheeler
"Robert C Hammond" (1913)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.cite book |last=West |first=Willis|title=Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC|year=1985|publisher=Heritage House|isbn=0-919214-68-1|pages=66] 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.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=54,55]The Grand Trunk Pacific's sternwheelers
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"Operator" and "Conveyor" at South Fort George (1913)] When theGrand Trunk Pacific Railway reachedTête 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 toJasper, Alberta and then hauled by mule wagon to Tête Jaune Cache. 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.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=51-53]The end of an era
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