''St. Charles'' was a small, screw-driven

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

that serviced the upper

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

, from 1903 to 1914. She was built from local timber for Brothers of the

Oblate Order of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1 ...

, using engines and other fittings brought from

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

. She was the first steamboat on the upper Peace River. She was sold in 1911 to Ford and Lawrence. According to Edward L. Affleck, ''St. Charles'' was one of a "fleet of pint-sized vessels" the Order operated, so they would not have to rely on 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 ...

's monopoly on river shipping. The Peace River has two long navigable sections, from the mouth on Lake Athabasca to the Vermilion Chutes, and on the upper river, from

Fort Vermilion Fort Vermilion is a Hamlet (place), hamlet on the Peace River in northern Alberta, Canada, within Mackenzie County. Established in 1788, Fort Vermilion shares the title of oldest European settlement in Alberta with Fort Chipewyan. Fort Vermilio ...

to Hudson's Hope—a distance of . ''St Charles'' was confined to the upper reaches.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , url = https://calverley.ca/article/03-019-going-up-the-river/ , title = Going up the River? , work = South Peace Historical Society , author = G.R. Clare , date = 1998 , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20201214031153/https://calverley.ca/article/03-019-going-up-the-river/ , archivedate = 2020-12-14 , accessdate = 2020-12-13 , url-status = live , quote = Her season on the river usually consisted of three round-trips to Fort St John and back. 1903 ships Steamships of Canada Water transport in the Northwest Territories

See also

References