Port Essington, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Port Essington was a cannery town on the south bank of the Skeena River
estuary in northwestern British Columbia
, Canada
, between Prince Rupert
and Terrace
, and at the confluence of the Skeena and Ecstall Rivers. It was founded in 1871 by Robert Cunningham and Thomas Hankin (father of the interpreter Constance Cox
) and was for a time the largest settlement in the region. During its heyday it was home to an ethnic mix of European-Canadians, Japanese-Canadians, and members of First Nations from throughout the region, especially Tsimshian
s from the Kitselas
and Kitsumkalum
tribes. In the Tsimshian language
, the site of Port Essington is called Spaksuut or, in English spelling, "Spokeshute", which means "autumn camping place". This also became the Tsimshian name for the town of Port Essington, and was conferred on Spokeshute Mountain, which stands above and behind the community. It sits on the traditional territory of the Gitzaxłaał tribe, one of the nine Tsimshian tribes based at Lax Kw'alaams
. In 1888, the anthropologist Franz Boas
visited Port Essington, interviewing Haida and Tsimshian individuals and establishing a working relationship with Odille Morison
, the Tsimshian linguist, who lived in Port Essington.
, one route to the new goldfields led up the Skeena River to Hazelton
, overland to Babine Lake
and on to the Omineca River
. The Provincial Government granted Robert Cunningham and Thomas Hankin the right to build a toll road
from Hazelton to Babine Lake, while William Moore
was placed in charge of the running pack mules on the trail. Cunningham and Hankin took out a pre-emption on the south bank of the Skeena River and set aside a portion of the property for the use of the local First Nations, while subdividing the rest for into lots which were sold to settlers.The Hudson's Bay Company
bought three lots that summer and built a store that became known as the Skeena Post. In 1876 the first salmon cannery was built and by the turn of the century there were seven canneries near the estuary. Robert Cunningham built a hotel, a town hall as well as the first cold storage plant in the north, which began operating in 1892. The town had an active social life with dances, concerts and church activities as well as three hotels and a red-light district. However, despite the appearance of prosperity, the economy of Port Essington fluctuated with the seasons. Salmon fishing was a summer activity and the river was closed for freighting in the winter so many of the residents would migrate south each fall. According to Harris (see below), in the early twentieth century Port Essington's population fluctuated between around 1,000 and, in the winter months, about a quarter of that.
Port Essington's importance as a town began to wane when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
along the Skeena was completed in 1914, on the opposite bank from Port Essington. Rail supplanted the riverboat commerce that had been the community's lifeblood. By the 1940s, all of Port Essington's canneries were inactive. Through the 1950s the population plummeted. Port Essington burned down in a series of fires in 1961 and 1965 and is now a ghost town (despite its continuing to appear as a populated settlement in many maps and atlases). It sits today on an Indian reserve jointly administered by the Kitselas and Kitsumkalum bands. Currently there are attempts to shape what remains of Port Essington into a tourist attraction.
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...
estuary in northwestern 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...
, between Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
and Terrace
Terrace, British Columbia
Terrace is a city on the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada. The Kitselas people, a tribe of the Tsimshian Nation, have lived in the Terrace area for thousands of years. The community population fell between 2001 and 2006 from 12,109 with a regional population of 19,980 to 11,320 and...
, and at the confluence of the Skeena and Ecstall Rivers. It was founded in 1871 by Robert Cunningham and Thomas Hankin (father of the interpreter Constance Cox
Constance Cox (interpreter)
Constance Cox was a Canadian schoolteacher of part Tlingit ancestry who lived and taught with the Gitksan First Nation in northwestern British Columbia and served as interpreter for several anthropologists....
) and was for a time the largest settlement in the region. During its heyday it was home to an ethnic mix of European-Canadians, Japanese-Canadians, and members of First Nations from throughout the region, especially Tsimshian
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...
s from the Kitselas
Kitselas
Kitselas, Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, in northwestern Canada. The original name Gits'ilaasü means "people of the canyon." The tribe is situated at Kitselas, British Columbia, at the upper end of Kitselas Canyon, which is on the...
and Kitsumkalum
Kitsumkalum
Kitsumkalum is one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, Canada, and is also the name of their Indian Reserve just west of the city of Terrace, British Columbia, where the Kitsumkalum River flows into the Skeena River...
tribes. In the Tsimshian language
Coast Tsimshian
Coast Tsimshian, known by its speakers as Sm'algyax, is a Tsimshianic language spoken by the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia and southeastern Alaska...
, the site of Port Essington is called Spaksuut or, in English spelling, "Spokeshute", which means "autumn camping place". This also became the Tsimshian name for the town of Port Essington, and was conferred on Spokeshute Mountain, which stands above and behind the community. It sits on the traditional territory of the Gitzaxłaał tribe, one of the nine Tsimshian tribes based at Lax Kw'alaams
Lax Kw'alaams
Lax-Kw'alaams , usually called Port Simpson, is an Indigenous village community in British Columbia, Canada, not far from the city of Prince Rupert. It is the home of the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River, which are nine of the fourteen tribes of the Tsimshian nation...
. In 1888, the anthropologist Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
visited Port Essington, interviewing Haida and Tsimshian individuals and establishing a working relationship with Odille Morison
Odille Morison
Odille Morison was a linguist, artifact collector, and community leader from the Tsimshian First Nation of northwestern British Columbia, Canada....
, the Tsimshian linguist, who lived in Port Essington.
History
In 1871, at the height of 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....
, one route to the new goldfields led up the Skeena River to 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...
, overland to Babine Lake
Babine Lake
Babine Lake is the longest natural lake in British Columbia, Canada.Babine Lake is located northeast of the town of Burns Lake in central British Columbia, some west northwest of the city of Prince George. It is long, wide, and has a net area of and a total area of...
and on to the Omineca River
Omineca River
Omineca River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows into the Williston Lake, and is part of the Peace River basin. It was originally a tributary of the Finlay River before the creation of Lake Williston.-References:...
. The Provincial Government granted Robert Cunningham and Thomas Hankin the right to build a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
from Hazelton to Babine Lake, while William Moore
William Moore (steamship captain)
William Moore was a steamship captain, businessman, miner and explorer in British Columbia and Alaska. During most of British Columbia's gold rushes Moore could be found at the center of activity, either providing transportation to the miners, working claims or delivering mail and...
was placed in charge of the running pack mules on the trail. Cunningham and Hankin took out a pre-emption on the south bank of the Skeena River and set aside a portion of the property for the use of the local First Nations, while subdividing the rest for into lots which were sold to settlers.The 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...
bought three lots that summer and built a store that became known as the Skeena Post. In 1876 the first salmon cannery was built and by the turn of the century there were seven canneries near the estuary. Robert Cunningham built a hotel, a town hall as well as the first cold storage plant in the north, which began operating in 1892. The town had an active social life with dances, concerts and church activities as well as three hotels and a red-light district. However, despite the appearance of prosperity, the economy of Port Essington fluctuated with the seasons. Salmon fishing was a summer activity and the river was closed for freighting in the winter so many of the residents would migrate south each fall. According to Harris (see below), in the early twentieth century Port Essington's population fluctuated between around 1,000 and, in the winter months, about a quarter of that.
Port Essington's importance as a town began to wane when 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...
along the Skeena was completed in 1914, on the opposite bank from Port Essington. Rail supplanted the riverboat commerce that had been the community's lifeblood. By the 1940s, all of Port Essington's canneries were inactive. Through the 1950s the population plummeted. Port Essington burned down in a series of fires in 1961 and 1965 and is now a ghost town (despite its continuing to appear as a populated settlement in many maps and atlases). It sits today on an Indian reserve jointly administered by the Kitselas and Kitsumkalum bands. Currently there are attempts to shape what remains of Port Essington into a tourist attraction.
Prominent residents
- Robert Cunningham, entrepreneur
- Odille MorisonOdille MorisonOdille Morison was a linguist, artifact collector, and community leader from the Tsimshian First Nation of northwestern British Columbia, Canada....
, Native linguist - William Henry PierceWilliam Henry PierceWilliam Henry Pierce , also known as W. H. Pierce, was a Canadian First Nations missionary for the Methodist church and a member of the Tsimshian nation in northwestern British Columbia. He is best known for his memoir, From Potlatch to Pulpit, which was the first published book by a...
, missionary, author - Walter WrightWalter Wright (oral historian)Walter George Wright was a Tsimshian hereditary chief from the community of Kitselas, near Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, whose extensive knowledge of oral history was published posthumously in book form as Men of Medeek....
, hereditary chief, oral historian