Gustavus Blin Wright
Encyclopedia
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
.
, USA in 1832. He arrived in British Columbia on February 28, 1862 aboard the steamer Brother Jonathan
and began a partnership that operated vessels on the route between San Francisco and New Westminster
.
from Lillooet to Cut-Off Valley, which connects from the Fraser River at Pavlion
, over Pavilion Mountain
via Kelly Lake
to Clinton, British Columbia
, as "47 Mile House" would become known.He was also given the option to complete the rest of the 151 miles (243 km) of construction to Alexandria, which he also undertook. By the end of the 1862 season, his crews had completed the road as far as the 127 Mile post. He built a camp for his workers for the winter of at 70 Mile House and then purchased the property outright the following spring.
Some controversy erupted when Wright proposed a change to the planned route, which had originally been intended to go past the roadhouse at Williams Lake
. Wright said he was concerned that the high cliffs and deep ravines would make construction too difficult and he proposed a different route that by-passed Williams Lake and went past Wright's own roadhouse at Deep Creek instead. While some were of the belief that Wright was making a perfectly logical decision based on the difficulty of the terrain, others, like the owners of the roadhouse at Williams Lake, claimed that Wright had ulterior motives and was changing the route simply for the sake of the profits he stood to gain by diverting the majority of the traffic to his own roadhouse. The situation was finally resolved by Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers
, who examined both routes and came back with the recommendation that the road be built as Wright had proposed.
By July 1863, the section was completed through to Soda Creek
and Alexandria. Then, early in 1864, Wright undertook the construction of the wagon road from Quesnel 26 miles (41.8 km) to Cottonwood, on the way to Barkerville.
At Alexandria, Wright built the first of his two sternwheelers that would ferry passengers and supplies up the Fraser River
to Quesnel. It was the Enterprise
, and was built by Victoria
shipbuilder, James Trahey. The Enterprise was launched and put into service in the spring of 1863.
In 1868 Wright built a second sternwheeler to was augment the service of the Enterprise. It was the Victoria
, which was built at Quesnel by James Trahey and put into service in the spring of 1869.
, Wright decided to take the Enterprise up to Takla Landing
, 230 miles (370.1 km) northwest of Quesnel, following a route that even the seasoned Hudson's Bay Company
canoe-men regarded as extremely difficult. In June 1871, the Enterprise left Quesnel with a full load of passengers and freight, and, after a perilous trip that took more than two months, arrived at Takla Lake on August 12.
However, by then other supply routes had been made to the Omineca diggings, from Hazelton
via the Skeena River
. On her journey back from Takla, the Enterprise was wrecked and abandoned on Trembleur Lake. Wright's Victoria would work on the upper Fraser River until 1886, when she was berthed at Steamboat Landing near Alexandria
.
He died on 8 April 1898 in Ainsworth, BC
.
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...
. His biggest achievement was building the Old Cariboo Road
Old Cariboo Road
The Old Cariboo Road is a reference to the original wagon road to the Cariboo gold fields in what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia...
to the Cariboo gold fields, from Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
to Fort Alexandria
Alexandria, British Columbia
Alexandria or Fort Alexandria is a National Historic Site of Canada on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and was the end of the Old Cariboo Road and the Cariboo Wagon Road...
, but he was also a partner in a freighting firm that operated on the Douglas Road
Douglas Road
The Douglas Road, aka the Lillooet Trail, Harrison Trail or Lakes Route, was a goldrush-era transportation route from the British Columbia Coast to the Interior...
, he ran a toll bridge at Bridge River
Bridge River, British Columbia
Bridge River was used to describe three separate towns or localities in the Lillooet Country of the Interior of British Columbia connected with the river and valley of the same name.-1858-60:...
, near Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
, and built part of the road from Quesnel
Quesnel, British Columbia
-Demographics:Quesnel had a population of 9,326 people in 2006, which was a decrease of 7.1% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Quesnel was $54,044, which is slightly above the British Columbia provincial average of $52,709....
to Barkerville. He was also the original owner of the town of 70 Mile House
70 Mile House, British Columbia
70 Mile House is situated on Highway 97 in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. Its name is derived from its distance from Lillooet, which was Mile 0 of the Old Cariboo Road. Other examples of towns named by their distance from Lillooet on the Old Cariboo Road are 93 Mile House, 100 Mile...
.
Early years
Gustavus Blinn Wright was born in Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, USA in 1832. He arrived in British Columbia on February 28, 1862 aboard the steamer Brother Jonathan
Brother Jonathan (steamer)
The Brother Jonathan was a paddle steamer that crashed on an uncharted rock near Point St. George, off the coast of Crescent City, California, on July 30, 1865. The ship was carrying 244 passengers and crew with a large shipment of gold. Only 19 survived the wreck, making it the deadliest shipwreck...
and began a partnership that operated vessels on the route between San Francisco and New Westminster
New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
.
The Old Cariboo Road
On August 16, 1862, Wright won the contract to build the 47 mile (76 km) long section of the Old Cariboo RoadOld Cariboo Road
The Old Cariboo Road is a reference to the original wagon road to the Cariboo gold fields in what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia...
from Lillooet to Cut-Off Valley, which connects from the Fraser River at Pavlion
Pavilion, British Columbia
Pavilion is a ranching and Indian Reserve community in the Fraser Canyon area of British Columbia, Canada. Most of the community is the population of the Pavilion 1 Indian Reserve of the Pavilion Indian Band, aka the Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation but there are also a number of ranches in the...
, over Pavilion Mountain
Pavilion Mountain
Pavilion Mountain is a mountain in the Marble Range in the South Cariboo region of the South-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of the ranching and First Nations community of Pavilion and to the north of Marble Canyon and immediately south of Kelly Lake, which is the...
via Kelly Lake
Kelly Lake
Kelly Lake may refer to:*Kelly Lake, a lake in Carver County, Minnesota*Kelly Lake, a lake in Rice County, Minnesota*Kelly Lake, a lake in Wellington, Nova Scotia*Kelly Lake, a lake in Oconto County, Wisconsin...
to Clinton, British Columbia
Clinton, British Columbia
Clinton is a village in British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 40 km northwest of Cache Creek and 30 km south of 70 Mile House.It is considered by some to straddle the southern edge of the Cariboo country of British Columbia, although others consider Ashcroft-Cache Creek, Lillooet, Savona,...
, as "47 Mile House" would become known.He was also given the option to complete the rest of the 151 miles (243 km) of construction to Alexandria, which he also undertook. By the end of the 1862 season, his crews had completed the road as far as the 127 Mile post. He built a camp for his workers for the winter of at 70 Mile House and then purchased the property outright the following spring.
Some controversy erupted when Wright proposed a change to the planned route, which had originally been intended to go past the roadhouse at Williams Lake
Williams Lake, British Columbia
Williams Lake, is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo, it is the largest urban centre between Kamloops and Prince George, with a population of 11,150 in city limits....
. Wright said he was concerned that the high cliffs and deep ravines would make construction too difficult and he proposed a different route that by-passed Williams Lake and went past Wright's own roadhouse at Deep Creek instead. While some were of the belief that Wright was making a perfectly logical decision based on the difficulty of the terrain, others, like the owners of the roadhouse at Williams Lake, claimed that Wright had ulterior motives and was changing the route simply for the sake of the profits he stood to gain by diverting the majority of the traffic to his own roadhouse. The situation was finally resolved by Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, who examined both routes and came back with the recommendation that the road be built as Wright had proposed.
By July 1863, the section was completed through to 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 Alexandria. Then, early in 1864, Wright undertook the construction of the wagon road from Quesnel 26 miles (41.8 km) to Cottonwood, on the way to Barkerville.
Wright's sternwheelers
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...
to Quesnel. It was the Enterprise
Enterprise (1862)
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...
, and was built by 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...
shipbuilder, James Trahey. The Enterprise was launched and put into service in the spring of 1863.
In 1868 Wright built a second sternwheeler to was augment the service of the Enterprise. It was the Victoria
Victoria (sternwheeler)
The Victoria sternwheeler was a passenger and freight steamer that was built for service on the Soda Creek to Quesnel route on the upper Fraser River in British Columbia....
, which was built at Quesnel by James Trahey and put into service in the spring of 1869.
The Omineca Gold Rush
In 1871 during the Omineca Gold RushOmineca 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....
, Wright decided to take the Enterprise up to Takla Landing
Takla Landing
Takla Landing, also known as McLaing Landing is an unincorporated locality and former steamboat landing on the east side of Takla Lake in the Omineca Country of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada...
, 230 miles (370.1 km) northwest of Quesnel, following a route that even the seasoned Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
canoe-men regarded as extremely difficult. In June 1871, the Enterprise left Quesnel with a full load of passengers and freight, and, after a perilous trip that took more than two months, arrived at Takla Lake on August 12.
However, by then other supply routes had been made to the Omineca diggings, from Hazelton
Hazelton, British Columbia
Hazelton is a small town located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 293...
via the Skeena River
Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...
. On her journey back from Takla, the Enterprise was wrecked and abandoned on Trembleur Lake. Wright's Victoria would work on the upper Fraser River until 1886, when she was berthed at Steamboat Landing near Alexandria
Alexandria, British Columbia
Alexandria or Fort Alexandria is a National Historic Site of Canada on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and was the end of the Old Cariboo Road and the Cariboo Wagon Road...
.
He died on 8 April 1898 in Ainsworth, BC
Ainsworth, British Columbia
Ainsworth or Ainsworth Hot Springs is a historic village on Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada and has a population of 50.Founded on May 31, 1883, it is the oldest surviving community on Kootenay Lake....
.