John Work ( – 22 December 1861) was a
Chief Factor
A factor is a type of trader who receives and sells goods on commission, called factorage. A factor is a mercantile fiduciary transacting business in his own name and not disclosing his principal. A factor differs from a commission merchant in ...
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 ...
and head of one of the original founding families in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
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, ...
. Work joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1814 and served in many capacities until his death in 1861, ultimately becoming a member of the company's Board of Management for its Western Department. He also served on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
’s Legislative Council. At the time of his death, Work was the largest private land owner of Vancouver Island. Work left an important legacy in the form of sixteen journals which chronicle his trading expeditions from 1823 to 1851. His journals provide a detailed record of
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
land features, native peoples, and the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fur trading business in the early 19th century.
Early life
John Work was born in Taughboyne parish, St Johnstown in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, probably in 1792. He was the eldest of six children of Henry Wark. He anglicized his name to "Work" when he joined the Hudson's Bay Company. There is no record of his schooling, but in later life his poor writing was taken as a sign of a deficient education. Work joined the Hudson's Bay Company on 15 June 1814 at
Stromness
Stromness (, non, Straumnes; nrn, Stromnes) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.
E ...
in the
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
. This began his lifelong association with that company.
[Sampson, William R.]
"John Work"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'', University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2000.[ "John Work"](_blank)
, Hudson's Bay Company Employee Biographical Sheet, Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba Government, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, July 1997.
Career
Work began his company service in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
at two posts on
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
. He was first assigned as a steward at
York Factory
York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. Yo ...
in 1814 and 1815. He was then moved to a junior trader position at Severn House, where he became district master in 1818. After the Hudson Bay Company merged with
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...
in 1821, Work was retained as a senior clerk and was put in charge of the Island Lake District, a position he held until 1823.
In 1823, Work was reassigned to the Columbia District. He traveled west in a party led by
Peter Skene Ogden. On this trip, Work began keeping a travel journal. It is a detailed record of his journey to the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
via the
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is pro ...
and
Athabasca Pass
Athabasca Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies on the border between Alberta and British Columbia. In fur trade days it connected Jasper House on the Athabasca River with Boat Encampment on the Columbia River.Whittaker, Jo ...
. His party reached a site known as
Boat Encampment
Boat Encampment is a ghost town in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The locality was at the tip of the Big Bend on the north shore of the Columbia River. The general vicinity, on the former Big Bend Highway, was by road a ...
on the Columbia on 13 October, and proceeding down the river with the Hudson Bay Company trading brigade that had been sent to meet them. The party reached the
Spokane River
The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city of ...
on 21 October. At that point, Ogden and Work traveled overland to their winter quarters at
Spokane House
Spokane House was a fur-trading post founded in 1810 by the British-Canadian North West Company, located on a peninsula where the Spokane River and Little Spokane River meet. When established, it was the North West Company's farthest outpost in ...
in what in now eastern
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state.
![Fort Vancouver 1845](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Fort_Vancouver_1845.jpg)
During the 1824 trapping season, Work helped
Finan McDonald Finan may refer to:
* Finan Cam, Abbot of Kinnity, an early Irish saint.
* Finan of Lindisfarne
Finan of Lindisfarne (died 10 or 17 February 661), also known as Saint Finan, was an Irish monk, trained at Iona Abbey in Scotland, who became the ...
extend the company's fur trade into the Flathead country of
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. In the fall of 1824, Work accompanied Governor
George Simpson and Chief Factor
John McLoughlin
John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...
down the Columbia River to the company's headquarters at
Fort George (now
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...
). In November 1824, Work joined an expedition led by Chief Trader
James McMillan James (or Jim or Jimmy) McMillan or MacMillan may refer to:
Sportspeople
* James McMillan (footballer, born c. 1866) (c. 1866–?), played for Sunderland
* James McMillan (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1937), played for Scotland,Everton and St ...
that explored the lower
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
looking for a site to establish a major trading post. On the return trip, his party discovered the Cowlitz Portage, which became an important route between the Columbia River and
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
. In the spring of 1825, Work helped move the company's headquarters from Fort George to the newly established
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
on the north bank of the Columbia facing the mouth of the
Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
.
Later that year, Work was put in charge of Spokane House.
Work spent the 1825–26 trapping season trading furs in Montana where he reopened
Flathead House. However, his most important job was to establish a new post on the Columbia near
Kettle Falls
Kettle Falls ( Salish: Shonitkwu, meaning "roaring or noisy waters", also Schwenetekoo translated as "Keep Sounding Water") was an ancient and important salmon fishing site on the upper reaches of the Columbia River, in what is today the U.S. ...
to be named
Fort Colvile
The trade center Fort Colvile (also Fort Colville) was built by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River in 1825 and operated in the Columbia fur district of the company. Named for Andrew Colvile,Lewis, S. William. ' ...
. After completing Fort Colvile, Work closed Spokane House in April 1826. Work ran his trading operations from Fort Colvile until the summer of 1829, often making short trading expeditions into British Columbia or accompanying fur cargo to Fort Vancouver.
![Paul Kane-BushCamp-ROM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Paul_Kane-BushCamp-ROM.jpg)
In 1830 Work was promoted to the rank of Chief Trader, and John McLoughlin put Work in charge of the Snake country trading brigade which had previously been run by Peter Skene Ogden. During the next year, Work travelled over 2,000 miles across
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
into what is now eastern
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, western Montana, northwestern
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and along the
Humboldt River
The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in the ...
in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. His expeditions were profitable, but Ogden had already explored and heavily trapped these areas. Because of this, Work recommended the annual Snake country expeditions be stopped. The next year, Work was sent into the
Salmon River country of Idaho and Montana's Flathead country. The rugged terrain, hostile
Blackfeet
The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Monta ...
Indians, and competition from the American trappers made these expeditions difficult. Work was promoted Chief Trader at the end of the 1831 season.
[Work, John (edited by T. C. Elliott)]
"Journal of John Work, April 30th to May 31st, 1830"
''Oregon Historical Quarterly'' (Volume 10, Number 3), Oregon Historical Society, Portland Oregon, September 1909.
In 1832, the Hudson's Bay Company sent Work to the
Sacramento Valley
, photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg
, photo_caption= Sacramento
, map_image=Map california central valley.jpg
, map_caption= The Central Valley of California
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...
in Mexican
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Trapping in the valley was very poor. Two previous Hudson's Bay Company trapping expedition led by Ogden and
Alexander Roderick McLeod
Alexander Roderick McLeod ( 1782 – 11 June 1840) was a fur trader and explorer in British North America who began his career with the North West Company in 1802.
McLeod became a trader and brigade leader with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) ...
had already been through the valley 1829 and 1830. There was also another Hudson's Bay Company brigade led by
Michel Laframboise
Michel Laframboise (May 11, 1793 – January 25, 1865) was a French Canadian fur trader in the Oregon Country who settled on the French Prairie in the modern U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Quebec, he worked for the Pacific Fur Company, the ...
and an American trapping party along with Work's brigade trapping in the same area during the 1832 season. Hostile Indians forced Work and Laframboise to join forces. Their party explored the coast from
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
to
Cape Mendocino
Cape Mendocino (Spanish: ''Cabo Mendocino'', meaning "Cape of Mendoza"), which is located approximately north of San Francisco, is located on the Lost Coast entirely within Humboldt County, California, United States. At 124° 24' 34" W longitude ...
. Work returned to Fort Vancouver in October 1833.
In 1834, Work was posted to
Fort Simpson
Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...
and put in charge of the company's trade along the British Columbia coast. He supervised the construction of the fort, which was being relocated from the
Nass River
The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland In ...
to McLoughlin Bay.
During a trading expedition in 1840, Work fell out of a tree, tearing open his abdomen and exposing his intestines. After pushing his intestines back into his body, he spent several days near death before continuing his journey.
In 1841, Governor Simpson decided to close all the coastal posts except Fort Simpson and
Fort Stikine
Fort Stikine was a fur trade post and fortification in what is now the Alaska Panhandle, at the site of the present-day of Wrangell, Alaska. Originally built as the Redoubt San Dionisio or Redoubt Saint Dionysius (russian: Форт or , r ''Fort ...
. His plan was to use the company's ship ''Beaver'' for most of the coastal trade. In 1842, John McLoughlin's son was in charge of Fort Stikine. Work felt he needed more help so he arranged for the junior clerk at Fort Stikine to be transferred to Fort Simpson. This left the young McLoughlin without any company support at his post. A few months later, McLoughlin was murdered and his powerful father blamed Work for transferring his son's only assistant away from Fort Stikine. In addition, it took over a year for Work to capture and send the three men involved in the murder south to Fort Vancouver. Work's relations with McLoughlin never recovered. Fortunately for Work, McLoughlin resigned from the company in 1846. A month later, Work was promoted to the rank of Chief Factor.
![Fort Victoria watercolour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Fort_Victoria_watercolour.jpg)
In 1845, the Hudson's Bay Company decided to put the Columbia Department in the hands of three Chief Factors. In 1846, Work, Ogden, and
James Douglas were selected to run of department. Work was placed in charge of the coastal trade including Forts Simpson, Fort Stikine,
Fort Langley
Fort Langley is a village community in Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of approximately 3,400 people. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company. ...
, and the ''Beaver''. Work's new job required extensive travel up and down the coast. In 1849, Work decided to abandon Fort Stikine and establish
Fort Rupert
Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fort on the east coast near the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The unincorporated community on Beaver Harbour is about by road southeast of Port Hardy.
Coal & fo ...
to exploit
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
deposits on the northern part of Vancouver Island. When the miners went on strike in 1850, Work went by canoe from Fort Simpson to Fort Victoria to consult with Douglas. He then went by canoe to Fort Rupert and successfully persuaded the miners to go back to work. In 1849, Work settled his large family at
Fort Victoria where his children could get an education. However, Fort Simpson remained his headquarters until 1851.
In 1852, Work purchased 823 acres of farmland north of the Fort Victoria and built a fine home there. A year later, Governor James Douglas appointed Work to the Legislative Council of Vancouver Island. Work supported Douglas in the controversy surrounding the appointment of
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
as chief justice of Vancouver Island. He opposed the establishment of an assembly for the colony because there were "so few people to govern" and "nobody to pay taxes to cover expenses." Work also continued his duties as Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, acting as a trustee for its Fur Trade Branch which purchased land for settlers who could not afford the required minimum 20-acre lots at £1 per acre. For two month in 1861, Work was acting governor while Douglas was away on business. Work remained both a Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company and a member of the Legislative Council until his death in December 1861.
Family
In 1825, Governor Simpson suggested that Work marry the daughter of a
Cayuse Indian chief, to secure good relations with the Native Americans living in along the Columbia River. Work did not follow the governor's advice. Instead, he married
Josette Legace, a mixed-blood woman from the
Spokane tribe
The Spokan or Spokane people are a Native American Plateau tribe who inhabit the eastern portion of present-day Washington state and parts of northern Idaho in the United States of America.
The current Spokane Indian Reservation is located in ...
in 1826.
Work's wife accompanied him on many of his trading expeditions. In addition, she and their younger children lived with him at Fort Simpson from 1836 until 1849, while their older children attended school at Fort Vancouver and then at the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
mission school
The Mission School (sometimes called "New Folk" or "Urban Rustic") is an art movement of the 1990s and 2000s, centered in the Mission District, San Francisco, California.
History and characteristics
This movement is generally considered to have ...
on the Willamette River near what is now
Salem, Oregon
Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...
. After finishing their schooling in 1841, the older girls joined the family at Fort Simpson.
In 1849, Work moved his family to Fort Victoria so the younger children could get an education. Work settled his family on an 823-acre farm north of the fort and built a large home there, which he called ''Hillside''. By 1859, he owned over 1,800 acres, making him the largest private landowner on Vancouver Island.
Because of his remote assignments and constant travel, Work and his wife were unable to have a formal wedding until 1849. The couple was finally married in a church ceremony on 6 November 1849 at Fort Victoria.
Work was the father of eleven children, three boys and eight girls.
* Jane, born at
Fort Colvile
The trade center Fort Colvile (also Fort Colville) was built by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River in 1825 and operated in the Columbia fur district of the company. Named for Andrew Colvile,Lewis, S. William. ' ...
in 1827, married
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie ( "Dr. Tolmie") (February 3, 1812 – December 8, 1886) was a surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician.
He was born in Inverness, Scotland, in 1812, and by 1833 moved to the Pacific Northwest in the service of ...
in 1850
* Sarah, born at Fort Colvile in 1829, married
Roderick Finlayson
Roderick Finlayson (March 16, 1818 – January 20, 1892) was a Canadian Hudson's Bay Company officer, farmer, businessman, and politician.
Born in Loch Alsh (Kyle of Lochalsh), Scotland, Finlayson came to North America in 1837. He moved to L ...
in 1849
* Leticia, born in Idaho in 1831, married
Edward Huggins in 1857
* Margaret, born at Fort Vancouver in 1836, married E. Jackson in 1861
* Mary, born at Fort Simpson in 1837, married
James Allan Grahame in 1860
* John, born at Fort Simpson in 1839
* Catherine, born at Fort Simpson between 1840 and 1842, married C. Wallace in 1861
* Suzette, born at Fort Victoria in 1843, married
Edward Gawler Prior
Edward Gawler Prior, (21 May 1853 – 12 December 1920) was a mining engineer and politician in British Columbia.
Early life
Prior was born in Dallowgill, Yorkshire, England, and worked as a mining engineer in England until 1873. He then ...
in 1878
* Henry, born at Fort Simpson in 1844 or 1845 (died in an accident at a young age)
* David, born at Fort Simpson in 1846
* Cecilia, born at Fort Simpson in 1849, married C. Jones in 1870
Several of Work's sons-in-law were also well known Hudson's Bay Company employees, including Doctor
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie ( "Dr. Tolmie") (February 3, 1812 – December 8, 1886) was a surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician.
He was born in Inverness, Scotland, in 1812, and by 1833 moved to the Pacific Northwest in the service of ...
,
Roderick Finlayson
Roderick Finlayson (March 16, 1818 – January 20, 1892) was a Canadian Hudson's Bay Company officer, farmer, businessman, and politician.
Born in Loch Alsh (Kyle of Lochalsh), Scotland, Finlayson came to North America in 1837. He moved to L ...
,
Edward Huggins, and
James Allan Grahame.
Legacy
Work chronicled his trading expeditions in sixteen meticulously kept journals, covering the period from July 1823 to October 1835 plus one additional trip in 1851. Although his journals are written as matter-of-fact business correspondence, they provide a detailed record of the
Oregon Country
Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
in the early 19th century. His journals have survived intact, making them among the oldest first-hand accounts of land features, native peoples, and the Hudson's Bay Company fur trading operations in the Pacific Northwest. As such, they are important historical records.
In addition, there are many geographical features in the Pacific Northwest named in honor of John Work.
Mount Work
Mount Work is a mountain in the Gowlland Range on southern Vancouver Island. It is located within Mount Work Regional Park in the District of Highlands, near Gowlland Tod Provincial Park and Goldstream Provincial Park
Goldstream Provincial P ...
, in the
Gowlland Range
The Gowlland Range is a low, small mountain range on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located just east of Saanich Inlet and south of Brentwood Bay. It has an area of and is a subrange of the Vancouver Island Ranges which in ...
flanking the east shore of
Saanich Inlet
, image = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, Canada 13.jpg
, image_size = 260px
, caption = Saanich Inlet from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Northwest o ...
and just northwest of Victoria, is named for him, Most of the range is in
Mount Work Regional Park. Also named for him is
Work Point at the west end of the
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
. Other locations named for him include
Work Channel Work Channel formerly ''Wark Channel'' is a channel in the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It lies to the northeast of the Tsimpsean Peninsula. It was named about 1837 by officers of the Hudson's Bay Company after ...
, on the northeast side of the
Tsimpsean Peninsula, just northeast of
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 ...
and near Fort Simpson, where he had served as Chief Factor; Work Bay in
Finlayson Channel
Finlayson Channel is a channel of the British Columbia Coast, Canada. It is a northern extension of Milbanke Sound. To its west are Swindle and Sarah Islands, to its east Roderick, Susan and Dowager Island
Dowager Island is an island in the N ...
; and Work Island near
Butedale.
References
Further reading
The Journal of John Work: A Chief-Trader of the Hudson's Bay Co. During His Expedition from Vancouver to the Flatheads and Blackfeet of the Pacific Northwest by William Stanley Lewis, 2006.
External links
*
ttp://www.mtmen.org/mtman/html/jwork/work02.html John Work’s journal of exploration of the lower Frasier RiverJohn Work’s journal account of an 1830 trip from Fort Colvile to Fort Vancouver*
ttp://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/jwork/work09.html John Work’s journal covering the Snake Country Expedition of 1830-31 (Part 2)
BC Heritage website entry*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Work, John
1792 births
1861 deaths
Canadian fur traders
Chief factors
Explorers of Oregon
History of California
Hudson's Bay Company people
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia
Irish explorers of North America
Oregon Country
People from County Donegal
Pre-Confederation British Columbia people