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The Bulkley Valley is in the northwest Central Interior of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.


Geography

The Bulkley, a stream running through
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, British Columbia, joins the larger
Morice River The Morice River is the outflow of Morice Lake south west of Houston, British Columbia, Canada. Morice Lake and Morice River are named after Father Adrien-Gabriel Moricebr>Geographic Name details The Morice has many small creeks joining it along i ...
about to the west. At the confluence, they become not the Morice, but unusually, take the name of the smaller Bulkley. The
Bulkley River The Bulkley River in British Columbia is a major tributary of the Skeena River. The Bulkley is long with a drainage basin covering . Much of the Bulkey is paralleled by Highway 16. It flows west from Bulkley Lake past Perow and is joined near ...
flows northwestward through the valley that is bounded on the west by the Hudson Bay Mountain range and on the east by the Babine Mountains. The northern boundary of the valley is usually considered the Bulkey's confluence with 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 n ...
at Hazelton, although it is sometimes placed further south near
Witset Witset (formerly Moricetown) is a Wet'suwet'en village in Central British Columbia, Canada on the west side of the Bulkley River on Coryatsaqua (Moricetown) Indian Reserve No. 2, and on Moricetown Indian Reserve No.1. The current village was built ...
. The valley's southern edge is at Bulkley Lake, part way between Houston and
Burns Lake Burns Lake is a rural village in the North-western-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, incorporated in 1923. The village had a population of 1,779 as of the 2016 Census. The village is known for its rich First Nations heritage, and ...
.


History


First Nations

The Wet'suwet'en people called the valley home for thousands of years. In the Delgamuukw decision of 1997, the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
affirmed that the Wet'suwet'en and neighbouring
Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approxim ...
had
Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
in the area.


Surveys and telegraph trail

Simon McGillivray Simon McGillivray, FRS ( – 9 June 1840), played an intricate role in merging the family owned North West Company with the rival Hudson's Bay Company. From 1835, he co-owned the ''Morning Chronicle'' and the ''London Advertiser''. He was Prov ...
of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
(HBC), who ventured into the northern part of the valley in 1833, is recorded as the first European visitor. William Downie followed in 1859 while apparently surveying a possible transcontinental railway route. Michael Byrnes (after whom
Burns Lake Burns Lake is a rural village in the North-western-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, incorporated in 1923. The village had a population of 1,779 as of the 2016 Census. The village is known for its rich First Nations heritage, and ...
is named) and Henry McNeill,
Collins Overland Telegraph Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...
surveyors, were the first to travel the entire length of the valley. Charles S. Bulkley (after whom the river and valley are named) was the company chief engineer for construction, but not a site employee. By September 1866, the line had crossed the valley following the Bulkley to its junction with the Skeena River. Following the successful completion of the
transatlantic telegraph cable Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...
, work halted on the Collins telegraph in March 1867, and prompted its 1869 closure north of
Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard dialect of French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to: Places * Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France * Quesnel, British Columbia, a city in British Columbia, Canada ...
. N. B. Gauvreau in 1890–1891 and A. L. Poudrier in 1892 conducted government surveys of the valley. The Poudrier party improved the former telegraph trail to a wagon road standard south to
Moricetown Witset (formerly Moricetown) is a Wet'suwet'en village in Central British Columbia, Canada on the west side of the Bulkley River on Coryatsaqua (Moricetown) Indian Reserve No. 2, and on Moricetown Indian Reserve No.1. The current village was buil ...
, and made other sections suitable for
packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...
s. During 1897–1901, the prospectors who followed the trail on their way to the Klondike Gold Rush observed the valley's agriculture and mining potential. In 1898, the Dominion government established a ranch at Pleasant Valley (
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
area), and the HBC in the
Driftwood __NOTOC__ Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides shelter and fo ...
area.


Yukon telegraph & pioneer settlers

The first phase of the Yukon telegraph, with a branch to Atlin, was constructed in 1899. The second phase, connecting Atlin and Quesnel along the abandoned Collins telegraph route, was completed in 1901. The 20-foot right-of-way improved access to the Bulkley Valley from both eastward points and the
sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...
terminal at Hazelton to the west. Charles Barrett (1866–1946), and Edward Charleson, who worked on the telegraph construction, settled west of Houston at what became Barrett. Barret later bought out Charleson and acquired the government ranch, naming the expanded property the "Diamond D". Prospectors and a small number of settlers lived elsewhere in the valley. In 1902, a delegation urged the BC government to initiate preemptions in the valley. Although the government approved a scheme for 100 families to each receive 100 acres of free land for every 320 acres preempted, prohibitive freight costs limited new settlers to a trickle. The government offered veterans from the
Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
160-acre land grants, and the valley became a popular choice. Unfortunately, most veterans on sold to speculators, soon creating vast parcels of undeveloped fertile land. For example,
Francis Rattenbury Francis Mawson Rattenbury (11 October 1867 – 28 March 1935) was a British architect although most of his career was spent in British Columbia, Canada, where he designed the province's legislative building among other public commissions. Divorc ...
acquired about 50,000 acres in the valley. Settlement proceeded slowly. In 1904, developers staked out the community of Aldermere on the hill above
Telkwa Telkwa is a village located along British Columbia Highway 16, nearly southeast of the town of Smithers and west of the city of Prince George, in northwest British Columbia, Canada. History Settlement in the area began around 1904 in a towns ...
. By 1906, the valley contained 74 non-native permanent residents. Telkwa was surveyed the following year. By 1910, upgrades to the wagon road stretched south of this point. By 1911, a weekly Aldermere–Hazelton stagecoach operated. That year, the first automobile traversed the valley, en route from
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
to Hazelton.


Railway and highway

The anticipated railway link would remove many of the obstacles to growth.
Foley, Welch and Stewart Foley, Welch and Stewart was an early 20th-century American-Canadian railroad contracting company. It was owned and operated by Patrick Welch and J.W. Stewart of Spokane, Washington and T. Foley of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The company was created ...
(FW&S) began eastward construction of the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...
(GTP) from
Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
in 1908, reaching the valley in 1912. The GTP had initially considered routing through the Telkwa Pass, shorter, largely bypassing the valley and the then major centre of Hazelton. That year forest fires raged through the valley destroying crops, farm buildings and equipment as far west as Telkwa and Aldermere. The start of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
saw land prices plummet, and settlers abandoning their properties. In 1917, a BC government initiative encouraged settlers and returning war veterans to establish farms in undeveloped areas. To this end, 24,000 acres were set aside in the valley, with conditions to deter speculation. In 1919, the
United Grain Growers The United Grain Growers, or UGG, was a Canadian grain farmers' cooperative for grain storage and distribution that operated between 1917 and 2001. History In 1917, the Grain Growers' Grain Company (GGGC) merged with the Alberta Farmers' Co- ...
(UGG) purchased 7,000 acres of the Rattenbury land, bringing sales to 32,000 acres, largely in the valley. At the time, his company owned 500,000 acres across the region. In 1927, his unsold holdings largely reverted to the government. Upgrading the road from Prince George to Hazelton with gravel was completed in 1925. This route was designated
Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia  - Thompsons Road (Victoria)     - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: *Yellowhead Hi ...
, which reached as far west as Cedarvale in 1942. US assistance was invaluable in reconstructing the final section to Prince Rupert in 1944, creating in places a narrow road wedged between the Skeena and railway tracks. Widening and paving came in the mid-to-late 1960s.


Mining

At Goathorn Creek near Telkwa, the McNeil mine began coal extraction in 1918, producing 14–45 tons daily. Opened in 1930, Bulkley Valley Collieries became the dominant player, increasing to about 9,000 tons per year during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Gething mine produced just over 15,000 tonnes from its underground operations of 1972–1986. A 1929 pamphlet lists numerous undeveloped, dormant and active gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and coal claims in the vicinity of the Telkwa River, Owen Lake, Topley, Houston, Mineral Hill, Grouse Mountain, Deep Creek, Dome Mountain, Babine Range, and Hudson Bay Mountain. Cronin Mine (primarily silver), from Telkwa/Smithers, was active 1909–1924. Opened in 1922, Duthie Mines (primarily silver), from Smithers, extracted $227,500 worth in 1928, but operations ceased in 1930. During the following decades, all mining of precious metals was modest. The open pit Huckleberry Mine, southwest of Houston, opened in 1997. Owing to low copper and molybdenite prices, production ceased in 2016. At the time, Huckleberry employed 260 people, 80 percent from Bulkley Valley communities. In 2015, the last full year of production, the mill processed 20,000 tonnes of ore per day, producing more than 43 million lbs of copper, 3,500 ounces of gold, and 206,000 ounces of silver.


Economy

The forest industry has remained dominant. Agriculture has comprised dairy and beef ranching, with opportunities for large-scale greenhouse operations. Tourism resources offer fishing, hunting, and hiking in spectacular terrain. Potential exists for expanding the mining industry, but residents oppose any new coal mines.


Communities


See also

* Skeena-Bulkley Valley Federal Electoral District * Bulkey Valley-Stikine Provincial Electoral District * Passenger train service


Footnotes


References

* * * * * *


External links


Bulkley Valley Centre for Natural Resources Research and ManagementBulkley Valley Museum in Smithers
{{Subdivisions of British Columbia, regions=yes Valleys of British Columbia