The Giscome Portage was a portage

Portage

Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...

 between the Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

 and Summit Lake in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The south end of the portage is now the location of a heritage site, the Huble Homestead, which is located on the Fraser River, 40 km north of Prince George

Prince George, British Columbia

Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...

 and 6 km off Highway 97.

1800s

The Lheidli T'enneh called the trail "Lhedesti" meaning "the shortcut".
In 1862, two men, John Giscome and Harry McDame

Harry McDame

Henry "Harry" McDame was a Bahamas-born prospector in the California and British Columbia gold rushes. He arrived in the Colony of British Columbia in 1858, along with many other blacks from California encouraged to move to the colony by Governor James Douglas and took up land near modern-day...

, asked the Lheidli T'enneh at Fort George if they knew of a good route to the Peace River Country

Peace River Country

The Peace River Country is an aspen parkland region around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block.- Geography :The Peace River Country includes the...

 where the men were planning to go try some gold prospecting. The natives told them about the nine mile long portage and John Giscome wrote an article about the trail that was later published in a Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 newspaper. Despite the newspaper coverage, the trail saw little use until the height of the Omineca Gold Rush

Omineca Gold Rush

The Omineca Gold Rush was a gold rush in British Columbia, Canada in the Omineca region of the Northern Interior of the province. Gold was first discovered there in 1861, but the rush didn't begin until late in 1869 with the discovery at Vital Creek....

 in 1871, when nearly 400 miners petitioned the government for the funds to build a wagon road over the portage so they could more easily travel to the Omineca gold fields. The petition was granted and the contract for building the road was given to Gustavus Blin Wright

Gustavus Blin Wright

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...

, who widened the trail at a cost of $9070. Peter Dunlevy, who operated a store at Soda Creek

Soda Creek

Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lakein 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 bank of the Fraser River, one mile...

 and Fort George, opened a store at the south end of the portage on the river. However, by the 1890s, most of the miners had left for other gold strikes and the road fell into disuse.

1900s and today

In 1903, two men from Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Albert Huble and Edward Seebach established a trading post at the south end of the Giscome Portage.
Huble pre-empted the land, and the men built cabins, a barn and a store. They also re-cut the trail, making it wide enough for a horse drawn wagon. They got their supplies from Fort George, on horseback in the summer or by dog team or snowshoes in the winter.
Then, in 1909, the area experienced new growth with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...

's plans to cross the province at Fort George and the Fraser River became easier to travel with the arrival of the Chilco, one of twelve sternwheelers

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 that would work on the upper Fraser River.
In 1914, the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

brought a dramatic decrease in business and by 1919, the store at the Giscome Portage was closed.

In 1983 the Giscome Portage Historical Society was formed and with the aid of government grants and local fund-raising events the store and homestead was restored. Today, the Huble Homestead Historic Site is a popular tourist attraction, entertaining thousands of visitors each year.