Pritchard, British Columbia
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Pritchard is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
straddling the
South Thompson River The South Thompson River is the southern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake at the town of Chase and flows app ...
in the Thompson region of south central
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. Northeast of the BC Highway 97 intersection on BC Highway 1, the locality is by road about west of
Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national American financial institution * Chase UK, a British retail bank * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturer * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in ...
and east of
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
.


Pioneer settlers

James Todd and
George Bohun Martin George Bohun Martin (December 25, 1842 – August 29, 1933) was an English-born farmer, rancher and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Yale from 1882 to 1894 and Yale-North from 1894 to 1898 in the Legislative Asse ...
were employees of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
(HBC). Todd pre-empted about on the south side shore eastward from the present bridge. In 1866, Martin took over Todd's land. Adjacent, Jean Laveau briefly settled to the east, at what became Laveau Creek, and Edward de Champs to the west at what became Neds Creek. On the north shore, opposite the Martin holding, Arthur Gore Pemberton settled. Preston Bennett and Moses Lumby, who bought south of Martin in 1867, sold this adjoining property to Martin in 1870. To serve
paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...
s, a large wharf was built in the 1860s about east from the present bridge. The 1885 arrival of the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
(CP) brought a flood of new settlers.


Martin Prairie

In the hills south of his farm, George Martin ranged his cattle. Later, his children Frank, George and Henry established farms in the hills. Initially called Martin's Prairie, the amended spelling emerged in due course. In 1892, Amos and Alfred Herbert established the first homestead. In 1908, the first school for the general area opened. In 1911, the Farmers' Institute was formed and fire destroyed the log school. The next year, a larger lumber building opened. Robert Brett operated a sawmill 1914–1922. When the school closed in 1953, students were bussed to Pritchard.


Pritchard name origin

About east was Watmore siding. Watmore came to describe an area along the railway line that encompassed present day Pritchard. Consequently, the school which opened in 1908 immediately east of the wharf was called Watmore. The railway point at Pritchard may have been first called Pemberton Spur (after Arthur G. Pemberton). In September 1907, John G. Fawcett sold Walter P. Pritchard a property on the south shore. Until 1912, Pritchard drove the Vernon–Kamloops stage. In the 1911 post office application, the Martin Prairie Farmers' Institute unanimously chose the name Pritchard.


Pritchard earlier community

Mrs. A.R. Johnstone was the inaugural postmaster 1911–1911, followed by W.P. Pritchard 1912–1927. In 1912, John Hutchinson, built a two-storey house immediately west of the present bridge. The store on the lower level was taken over by daughter Nellie Boyde, when John, a resident for only a year, died months later. Pritchard built a three-storey hotel/boarding house in 1912 about east of the present railway crossing, which opened in January 1913. The building comprised 14 bedrooms, a general store, and relocated post office. The annual fall fairs were held 1913 to the early 1920s. In 1948, Wing Howe bought the hotel, which he immediately closed to the public but became accommodation for Chinese workers. Being subject to flooding, the Watmore school site was vacated in 1936. Renamed Pritchard, the new school opened that year at 1563 Martin Prairie Rd, about up from the highway. In 1950,
BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...
transmission lines introduced electricity to the area. In 1957, a
teacherage A teacherage is a house for one or more schoolteachers, like a parsonage is a house for a parson or minister of a Protestant church. Teacherages are used to provide accommodation for teachers in remote native communities in Canada since teachers a ...
was erected. In 1965, the establishment of an automatic telephone exchange at Chase introduced dial calling to the Pritchard area. In 1968, the school closed and the students were bussed to Chase. Formed in 1969, the community association took control of the building as a community hall. In 1972, the abandoned hotel building was demolished and burned.


Pemberton Range

On the benches north of his farm, Arthur Pemberton ranged his cattle. Soon the name changed from Hog Range to Pemberton Range. His property stretched eastward to Hoffman's Bluff. In 1909, B.C. Orchards purchased about of the holding on the understanding that J.H. Kilmer would in turn acquire the property. When Kilmer was unable to meet the second installment in June 1910, B.C. Orchards sold the property to Messrs. Ross and Shaw after the notice of cancellation expired. The forfeiture was overturned by the lower court, but the
British Columbia Court of Appeal The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. Jurisdiction The ...
reversed that decision. In 1913, the Privy Council upheld the lower court decision. The lack of water rights dashed the plan to subdivide the land into orchards. A school existed 1913–1965. After burning down in 1929, the school was rebuilt with more windows. Also acknowledging the name are Pemberton Hill, Pemberton Creek, Pemberton Lake, and Pemberton Gulch. An irrigation ditch from the lake brought water to the Pemberton farm. In 1966, electricity transmission extended into the area.


Railway

In August 1885, the eastward advance of the CP rail head passed through the locality, regular service having started as far east as Kamloops the previous month. In 1911, the train station building was erected. In 1912, a derailed car structurally weakened the track through the community, before rerailing at the
switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
. On being flagged down by a passerby, the following passenger train proceeded slowly over the damaged section. In 1913, double-tracking was extended eastward to Pritchard, not continuing for a number of years. In 1921, the station was moved westward closer to the railway crossing. In 1923, a passenger train fatally struck the
section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...
foreman walking the track. In the 1940s, stockyards were erected at the western end of the siding. In 1951, 21 horses died while being shipped in a sealed
boxcar A boxcar is the North American (Association of American Railroads, AAR) and South Australian Railways term for a Railroad car#Freight cars, railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simpl ...
to Kamloops. In 1958, one man died and two were seriously injured when a train dragged their vehicle from the railway crossing to the switch.


Ferry, bridge, and roads

In the early years, a cross river
scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailboat, sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small ha ...
ferry connected to the Pemberton Ranch. A subsidised ferry was established in 1912. To prevent drifting downriver, a guide cable was installed in 1913. In 1920, a timber swing span with of trestle approaches replaced the ferry. A fixed span replaced the swing section in 1931, which in turn was replaced in the 1933/34 winter by a lift span to restore navigability to the river. The present one-lane arched trestle bridge, built in 1985, is high enough to allow the passage of a sternwheeler. The ''Wanda Sue'' passed by on river tours 1984–2004. The road which ran to the Martin Ranch on the north side of the train track, past the station, hotel, wharf road, and ferry road, became disused beyond the station after 1950. In 1874, the Shuswap Wagon Rd was built from Ducks ( Monte Creek) to Chase. The right-of-way through the vicinity was present Stoney Flats Rd. In 1925, the route was realigned lower to Stewart Rd. In 1948–49, it was upgraded to highway status. Establishing a bypass around Pritchard, the widening of the highway from two to four lanes was completed for Monte Creek–Pritchard around 2014 and Pritchard–Hoffman's Bluff in 2016.


Later community

On the north shore west of the bridge, the first phase of the subdivision (comprising 38 lots of ), was ratified in January 1972. Approval of the second phase (62 lots) was that November and the third phase (70 lots) was September 1976. Multi-use residential zoning allowed single family duplex or single wide mobile homes. By 1976, problems with wastewater drainage were evident. Launched by Pritchard Developments, the properties were later marketed as flat serviced lots, paved roads, and suitable for mobile homes. By 1998, 144 homes stood on these lots. Installed in 1972, the water supply infrastructure was upgraded in 2010. A further upgrade went out to tender in 2022. In 1989, the shell of the new community hall was erected at 1714 Duck Range Road. Around 1992, the interior was completed. In 1993, the Pritchard voluntary fire department was established. Although rodeo schools were held for a couple of years in the mid-1970s and a rodeo held in the mid-1980s, the annual Pritchard Rodeo did not commence until 1994. In 2016, a new grandstand replaced the old one at the Pritchard Rodeo Grounds. The wastewater treatment plant, constructed during 1997–1998 for the Pritchard Developments subdivision, was upgraded in the mid-2010s. Immediately northwest of the bridge, Riverside Living is a planned 65-unit manufactured home development. During the 2010s, most of the 24 units of the first phase were erected. In 2013, a district waste transfer station opened. Agriculture and horse stables primarily make up the local economy. A gas station stands adjacent to the general store/post office. The Pritchard Evangelical Free Church holds Sunday services in the community hall. Pritchard Provincial Park is to the east on the north shore. One estimate puts the 2021 population as 1,500 for the general area. Based on the increase in housing stock since the 1991 census, the 2021 Pritchard population should number about 1,000.


Footnotes


References

* {{BritishColumbia Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Populated places in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District