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HISTORY
PAGE
Boats
on the Fraser River
Many of British Columbia's
early settlers lived in remote areas of the province not yet accessible by road
or railroad. Instead, settlers had to rely on the steam-powered paddlewheelers
for transportation and delivery of supplies. At one time, there were over 300
paddlewheelers on British Columbia's lakes and rivers, more than were on the Mississippi.
But it takes a special kind of paddlewheeler to navigate through the narrow channels
of the Fraser River, and sometimes those channels can be made even more dangerous
by debris, snags, and logs.
For nearly 100 years, a paddlewheeler named Samson worked on the
Lower Fraser River, removing the obstacles and clearing the way. The slap of her
paddle and the toot of her whistle were familiar sounds to many people, as she
quietly puffed up and down the river, from its mouth to Mission.
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The
Mighty Samsons
Read
about each of the five snagpullers that worked the Fraser River.
The
early days of Fraser River Transportation A
history of a few of the Fraser River's early steamboats.
The
Fraser's Riverboat Captains
Profiles of some of the courageous and adventurous men who braved the wild river.
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