The Skeena

sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose na ...

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 A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

'' and the '' Omineca''. Three of these, the ''Conveyor'', the ''Operator'' and the ''Distributor'' were built at

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

in 1908 by Alexander Watson Jr.

Skeena River

The ''Skeena'' began her work on the Skeena River in 1909 under the command of Captain Magar. She and the other four Foley, Welch and Stewart sternwheelers had their work cut out for them. The construction of the railway from Prince Rupert to Hazelton was one of the most difficult sections of track that would ever be laid in North America. This 186 mile stretch would take nearly four years to build and would employ thousands of workers. The ''Skeena'' was unique in that she was used primarily for delivering food supplies to the work camps along the river. In fact, she carried so much of meatpacker Pat Burns products that she was often mistakenly called his boat.

Fraser River

In 1914, Captain Charles Seymour purchased the ''Skeena'' and took her down to the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

. For eleven years the devotion of her skipper-owner kept her plying the river past

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...

, Maple Ridge, Langley and Mission. But when Captain Seymour died in 1925 she lost her only advocate and was sold and converted to a floating

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

for an oil company. Her departure ended the historic era of sternwheelers on the lower Fraser River.

References

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Notes

{{Steamboats British Columbia Paddle steamers of British Columbia 1909 ships Steamboats of the Skeena River

Skeena River

Fraser River

See also

References

Notes