Socioeconomic issues: History
The European influx
The European influx into the Peace River area essentially occurred in three waves. The first wave consisted of fur traders and explorers and extended from the early 1790s to the 1860s. The second wave lasted from the 1860s to the early 1900s. These people were gold seekers, travelers, missionaries and surveyors. After them came the settlers, some of whom still reside on lands they once pioneered - lands that are now threatened by the Site C project.
Sir Alexander MacKenzie, a great Northwest explorer, was the first European to cross the Rocky Mountains north of Mexico and reach the Pacific Ocean. Much of his trip was taken via the Peace River. It was while he was standing on what is now known as Jim Rose Hill (and part of the proposed flood area) that he penned this description of the Peace River in mid May of 1793:
"The west side of the river displayed a succession of the most beautiful scenery I ever beheld... This magnificent theatre of nature has all the decorations which the trees and animals of the country can afford it: groves of poplars in every shape vary the scene; and their intervals are enlivened with vast herds of elks and buffaloes: the former choosing the steeps and uplands, and the latter preferring the plains... The whole country displayed an exuberant verdure; the trees that bear a blossom were advancing fast to that delightful appearance, and the velvet rind of their branches, reflecting the oblique rays of a rising or setting sun, added a splendid gaiety to the scene, which no expressions of mine are qualified to describe."
- Voyages from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in the Years 1789 and 1793. London, 1801. Several reprint editions.
North West Trading Company's Rocky Mountain Fort was soon established. Built a few metres from the confluence of the Peace and Moberly Rivers, this fur trade post became the site of the first European settlement in mainland British Columbia, and the forerunner of today's Fort St. John. If the Site C project is allowed to proceed, this heritage site (HbRf 31) will be destroyed to make way for the dam site's spoil and/or contract area. (Spurling, B. (1980) The Site C Heritage Resource Inventory and Assessment. Burnaby. Simon Fraser University: 100.)
In 1805 a second fur trade post, Rocky Mountain Portage House (HaRl 4), was established closer to modern day Hudson's Hope under the direction of Simon Fraser. (Peck, 2006. Life on the Trail: Stories of Guiding and Packing in North Eastern British Columbia.) The Site C flood would destroy it, too (Spurling, 1980, p.2).
The discovery of gold along the banks of the Parsnip and Peace Rivers in the early 1860s prevented the Rocky Mountain range from becoming the northern divide between British Columbia and Alberta. Within a few years, missionaries, travellers, and railway and geological surveyors joined trappers, traders and gold-seekers. Reports of the exceptional agricultural lands resulted in the British Columbia government seizing all arable lands (a.k.a. 'the Peace River Block'), thus prohibiting homesteading. The BC government promised 3 500 000 acres of this land to the federal government in return for its support in building railways in other parts of the province. Finally the selection of lands was made and in 1912 the remaining area was open for settlement. (Bowles, 1963. Peace River Chronicles. Vancouver, Prescott Publishing: 12-13.)
Until the Alaska Highway was built (during the Second World War) and the railway made it as far as Grande Prairie, Alberta, in 1958, the main transportation route was the Peace River. It is not surprising, then, to discover so many heritage sites of significant importance along its banks today. In his 1980 BC Hydro report on the Site C heritage resources, Spurling notes that the included 310 inventoried sites may represent as little as 1/3 of possible sites, concluding that, "...a much smaller proportion have been investigated to any extent (p. 126)." Can we afford to let this history be washed away?
Long-time resident and son of local pioneers, Ross Peck, gives an excellent review of the area from the time of initial European exploration to modern day. To read more about this fascinating and unique history, please check out his website, Life on the Trail: Stories of Guiding and Packing in North Eastern British Columbia.
Early Arrivals
Sir Alexander MacKenzie, a great Northwest explorer, was the first European to cross the Rocky Mountains north of Mexico and reach the Pacific Ocean. Much of his trip was taken via the Peace River. It was while he was standing on what is now known as Jim Rose Hill (and part of the proposed flood area) that he penned this description of the Peace River in mid May of 1793:
"The west side of the river displayed a succession of the most beautiful scenery I ever beheld... This magnificent theatre of nature has all the decorations which the trees and animals of the country can afford it: groves of poplars in every shape vary the scene; and their intervals are enlivened with vast herds of elks and buffaloes: the former choosing the steeps and uplands, and the latter preferring the plains... The whole country displayed an exuberant verdure; the trees that bear a blossom were advancing fast to that delightful appearance, and the velvet rind of their branches, reflecting the oblique rays of a rising or setting sun, added a splendid gaiety to the scene, which no expressions of mine are qualified to describe."
- Voyages from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in the Years 1789 and 1793. London, 1801. Several reprint editions.
North West Trading Company's Rocky Mountain Fort was soon established. Built a few metres from the confluence of the Peace and Moberly Rivers, this fur trade post became the site of the first European settlement in mainland British Columbia, and the forerunner of today's Fort St. John. If the Site C project is allowed to proceed, this heritage site (HbRf 31) will be destroyed to make way for the dam site's spoil and/or contract area. (Spurling, B. (1980) The Site C Heritage Resource Inventory and Assessment. Burnaby. Simon Fraser University: 100.)
In 1805 a second fur trade post, Rocky Mountain Portage House (HaRl 4), was established closer to modern day Hudson's Hope under the direction of Simon Fraser. (Peck, 2006. Life on the Trail: Stories of Guiding and Packing in North Eastern British Columbia.) The Site C flood would destroy it, too (Spurling, 1980, p.2).
Seeking Fortunes
The discovery of gold along the banks of the Parsnip and Peace Rivers in the early 1860s prevented the Rocky Mountain range from becoming the northern divide between British Columbia and Alberta. Within a few years, missionaries, travellers, and railway and geological surveyors joined trappers, traders and gold-seekers. Reports of the exceptional agricultural lands resulted in the British Columbia government seizing all arable lands (a.k.a. 'the Peace River Block'), thus prohibiting homesteading. The BC government promised 3 500 000 acres of this land to the federal government in return for its support in building railways in other parts of the province. Finally the selection of lands was made and in 1912 the remaining area was open for settlement. (Bowles, 1963. Peace River Chronicles. Vancouver, Prescott Publishing: 12-13.)
Settling In The Valley
Until the Alaska Highway was built (during the Second World War) and the railway made it as far as Grande Prairie, Alberta, in 1958, the main transportation route was the Peace River. It is not surprising, then, to discover so many heritage sites of significant importance along its banks today. In his 1980 BC Hydro report on the Site C heritage resources, Spurling notes that the included 310 inventoried sites may represent as little as 1/3 of possible sites, concluding that, "...a much smaller proportion have been investigated to any extent (p. 126)." Can we afford to let this history be washed away?
Long-time resident and son of local pioneers, Ross Peck, gives an excellent review of the area from the time of initial European exploration to modern day. To read more about this fascinating and unique history, please check out his website, Life on the Trail: Stories of Guiding and Packing in North Eastern British Columbia.