The BC Legislative Council Collection consists of 6 journals of the Legislative Council, as well as files containing BC proclamations, BC ordinances, and BC acts.
British Columbia Legislative CouncilThe collection consists of 9 photographs and copies of photographs showing scenes of Prince Rupert and area, groups of townspeople, a stone totem pole at Metlakatla, and a man poling a dug-out canoe probably on the Skeena River. It includes two newspaper clippings, one from the BC Saturday Sunset dated September 14, 1912 and another from The Globe dated Saturday March 23, 1907. The bound volumes of the Prince Rupert Empire newspaper were transferred to Special Collections. See accompanying note.
Prince Rupert Daily NewsCollection consists of photographs and plans relating to the construction of bridges, trestles, and stations of the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, ca. 1913, collected or created by George W.H. Jackson, a surveyor who worked for the CNPR. The railway, incorporated in 1910, existed in name only as a subsidiary of the Canadian Northern Railway, and began construction around 1913. The materials include:
- 148 photographs showing surveying, worksites, and views along the route. Many of the images are captioned and/or dated, presumably by Jackson.
- 94 blueprint plans detailing work on bridges, trestles, station hours, etc. with elevations, details of construction, and materials; one larger blueprint shows the rail route over Kicking Horse Pass.
Collection consists of materials related to Fort George surveying and preemption, including both legal and personal correspondence, legal documents and records, plans of lots, photographs, and a map. Includes records from the Cariboo Investment Company, Ltd., J.B. Henderson-Roe and C.H. Henderson Roe.
This photograph album features 86 black and white photographs of Fort Fraser area during the time of the community's formation.
Collection consists of a photograph album from A. H. Holland, a British Columbia Land Surveyor, that was created while working in the Central Interior, the Cariboo, the Chilcotin and southeast British Columbia. This album visually documents steamboat, stagecoach and horse travel in British Columbia and also captures the prepatory work and dawn of the age of rail travel.
Holland, Arthur H.The fonds consists of six company ledgers: 1894 - 1896, 1896, 1898 - 1901, 1900, 1904 - 1905, 1923 - 1926. Also includes 15 pages of correspondence and notes. The ledgers note expenses for various operations in the mine and in the company owned premises in town. The letters and notes concern the purchase of explosives for the mine and discusses the Consolidated Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Company.
Bullion MinesThis collection consists of photographs and "real photo" postcards that depict the construction and operation of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway line, communities nearby the railway line, and regional geography of areas adjacent to the PGE line.
The photographs depict the geographic areas of Stewart, BC, Boundary Pass, Nelson River, Bitter Creek Glacier, Portland Canal, Red Cliff and Bear Creek; as well as the ships “Camosun” and “S.S. Prince George.” Types of subjects identified in this collection include: community life, surveying, mining and transportation (i.e. dog-sledding, horse and buggy, and the Portland Canal Short Line Railway “P.C.S.L. Rlwy”).
A collection of postcard photographs of Port Essington BC, Port Simpson BC, Atlin, Quesnel, McBride, Hagwilget Village, Giscome, Likely, Kitwanga, Smithers, Prince Rupert BC, Prince (Fort) George BC Images depict street scenes, water scenes, community events, businesses, buildings, and aerials of the towns. Collection also depicts a number of Northern BC paddle wheelers.
This journal by Dr. Lazier consists of his obstetric notes on pregnancies, childbirths, infant deaths, and maternal deaths during his practice from 1901 through 1918 and 1922 through 1930. Some of the locations and regions covered in the journal include: Prince George/Fort George and the surrounding area, Nakusp, Arrowhead, Beaton, Camborne, Princeton, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Grayson (Saskatchewan), Neville (Saskatchewan), Ranfurly (Alberta), Minburn (Alberta), etc. A few pages at the back of the journal consists of a child’s writing in pencil of a “list of made up words” and a list of “German words.”
Lazier, Dr. David BrownleeEmil Bronlund was in 1927 hired by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Ltd. (later known as Cominco) to take on the company's mining exploration in northern British Columbia, a position he held for almost 25 years. Bronlund had a Leica camera and took photographs during his exploratory trips.
This album of Bronlund's photographic negatives from 1930 to 1932 includes photographs of the following trips:
- Trip to Osilinka River and Omineca River, July 1930
- Copper Mountain on Duck Creek, July 1930
- Wedge Creek, Sept. 1930
- Finlay River, Finlay Forks, Parsnip River, and Crooked River, Oct. 1930
- Prince George, Aug. 1930
- Gola, Norway, Apr. 1931
- Emil Bronlund and Frank Swannell survey crews at Thutade Lake, June 1931 and Sept. 1931
- Cairn mining claim exploration for Consolidated Mining and Smelting Ltd., June-July 1931
- Brothers Lake, Bronlund Peak, and Fredricksen Lake, July 1932
- Sustut Lake, Sept.-Oct 1931
- McLeod River trip, Mar.-Apr. 1932
The Fred Jeffery Collection consists of three photograph albums comprising a total of 303 b&w photographs all dating from ca.1924-1933. The subject matter of these images consist primarily of the fishing industry, river & landscapes, salmon cannery images (housing, people, workers, machinery, boats) on the Nass River and North Pacific Coast. Notable are the photographs depicting indigenous (Nisga'a) people and places and Chinese and Japanese cannery workers. Identified canneries featured in these photographs include: Mill Bay Cannery, Namu Cannery, Klemtu Cannery, Shushartie Bay Cannery, Balmoral Cannery, North Pacific Cannery, Nass Harbour Cannery, Port Essington Cannery, Kitwanga Cannery, Port Nelson Cannery, Alert Bay Cannery, Dominion Cannery and ABC Co. Cannery. Photographs also include images of the Canadian Pacific Railway in both Vancouver and Sicamous, BC., as well as, images of the Legislative Assembly buildings in Victoria, the 1924 Special Service Squadron ships in Vancouver, early construction of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and town overviews of Yokohama, Japan (pre WWII).
Jeffery, FredCollection consists of 1 copy of 1934 Charles Bedaux Expedition map entitled: "Preliminary Plan showing traveled route of the Bedaux Sub-Arctic Expedition season 1934. Cassiar and Peace River Districts, British Columbia."
Collection consists of reproduced archival material collected from other heritage institutions in order to facilitate regional access to records.
In 1936, Gordon Young Wyness was employed by Philip M. Monckton, a B.C. Land Surveyor. Between June 5 and October 8, Wyness joined Monckton and a group of others on a land survey expedition in northwestern BC. The survey crew travelled to various locations in the area including Telkwa, Hazelton, Burns Lake, Francoise Lake, Vanderhoof, Prince George, Quesnel, Lytton, and Hope. Wyness documented their journey in this photograph album. Based on the photographs, it appears that the crew led by Philip Monckton consisted of Jack Lee and Gordon Wyness; Mrs. Lavender Monckton (nee O'Hara) also accompanied the group.
In addition to the 50 photographs included in the album, this collection also includes five additional unique photographs that accompanied the album.
Wyness, Gordon YoungCollection consists of 11 digitized images of Prince George in the 1930s. Includes depictions of snow removal, flooding of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers, the CNR rail yard, and the railway bridge.
Collection consists of one photograph album containing 28 photographs featuring images of landscapes and water views; fishing scenes; structures; automobiles; persons; Hudson's Bay Company posts; First Nations and wildlife in and about the Stuart Lake area.
Collection consists of textual records related to Stuart S. Holland, Associate Engineer, Department of Mines.
Holland, Stuart S.The Alexander Manson Mining Collection consists of 133 loose photographs documenting various aspects of the mining industry in Northern British Columbia between 1930-1940. Photographs show images of Manson Creek and Germansen Landing.
Manson, AlexanderThese photographs were taken by an unknown photographer from Department of National Deference Public Relations (Pacific Command) during the 1945 Polar Bear Exercise. This exercise was held in northern British Columbia in February and March 1945, using some 1,150 soldiers of the 6th Division. The intent of the exercise was to test the effects of "wet cold" conditions on military men and material. The scenario for the Polar Bear Exercise was that: "Action will be based on reports of a Japanese force having been landed at Bella Coola from submarines, having rendered useless RCAF installations at Bella Bella, and giving positive indication that this force is composed in great part of construction personnel with a comparatively small protective element; the assumption being that it will try to construct a useable road from Bella Coola to permit movement inland of a larger fighting force to follow at some later date". The exercise itself was conducted in three overlapping phases. Between 12 February and 5 March the force moved from Prince George to Anahim Lake, chiefly using an array of motor transport but with some pack horses. The second phase ran from 4 March to early April. This was a series of marches from Anahim Lake to Bella Coola and return; a secondary force of 19 men split off from the main body and, travelling by snowmobile and snowshoe, traversed the Rainbow Mountains to Bella Coola; on the return march this detachment was increased to 120 men and dubbed "Y" Force. The third phase was removal of all troops by vehicle from Anahim Lake to Williams Lake. These photographs are believed to document the return from Bella Coola.
ALASKAN HIGHWAY PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM. British Columbia: N.D. [ca 1945]. 10 1/4" x 13 1/4" in thick green embossed boards, with title (Photographs) in gilt and tied at spine with green cord. Photo album contains 172 original photographs and 27 real photo postcards. Photographs measure 5 3/4" x 3 1/2," with a majority captioned in manuscript. Through these photos one has visual journey of travel on the newly constructed Alaskan Highway through British Columbia and into the Yukon. The travelers set off from Fort Saint John, passing through Fort Nelson, and seeming to go as far as Watson Lake, just across the border into the Yukon Territory. Along the way, they drove through the Trout River Valley, Steamboat Mountain, Muncho Lake, and many other impressive features of the landscape. The final section of images comprise home photos of the family that made the trip and some photos taken earlier.
Collection consists of photographs and a film relating to logging operations at the Peden Hill sawmill. Some of the photographs depict other unknown sawmills, one with a dry kiln.
Collection contains photographs depicting community life in Prince George, B.C. Images depict holiday events, sports teams, government buildings, businesses (hotels, banks, retail, newspaper office), riverboats, railroad construction, fishing, a cemetery, street scenes, aerials, and landscapes. Also includes photos taken outside of the Prince George vicinity including Prairie Creek, Thomas Creek and Barkerville, B.C.
Consists of two photograph albums that illustrate Parker Bonney's early years as a Forest Engineer. Includes photographs of the expedition to the Nass Valley undertaken by Parker Bonney, Sam Brown, and others. May also include photographs of later surveying expeditions.
Bonney, ParkerThis photograph collection consists of 53 photographs featuring primarily Giscome with a few of Prince George. Subjects include the Eagle Lake Sawmill, Eagle Lake, Giscome townsite (including specific buildings and general road perspectives), Giscome School, Division II class photos (1950-51), and the Giscome School teacherage.
Collection consists of digitized home videos created by the Viksten family. The videos include scenes of Horsefly Lake and the Williams Lake Stampede.
This 16mm film of Eagle Lake Sawmills was produced by Torajiro Sasaki in July 1952, likely commissioned or with permission from the sawmill owners, the Spurs. The film depicts logging and sawmilling operations at the Eagle Lake Sawmill, as well as shots of the bunkhouses, exterior shots of the mill, and the beehive burner. Employees of the mill are shown at work. In 1952, Eagle Lake Sawmill used both machinery and horses in their operations.
Sasaki, TorajiroCollection consists of 5 booklets concerned with different aspects of safe railroad operations. Dated from 1950 to 1957, the booklets cover a range of subjects including derailments, loading material dangerous material, and other loading instructions.
Association of American RailroadsThis collection consists of a scrapbook entitled "My Two Year Term on the Teen Town Council", which was created by Howard Foot to document his involvement in the Prince George Teen Town Council in 1958-1959.
Foot, HowardThese historically important aerial photographs depict Williston Lake soon after its creation in 1968 with the building of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River. Also depicted are the rivers and tributaries that empty into the Williston Reservoir, such as the Finlay River, the Ospika River, and the Omineca River.
These remote-sensing aerial photographs were taken by Lockwood Survey Corporation Ltd. under contract for the B.C. Forest Service. Some photographs are annotated to show logging activity; clearcuts, slash piles, log booms, and tree debris on the water are also visible in some of the images. No detailed location information or index accompanies the photographs.
Lockwood Survey Corporation Ltd.Collection consists of three original color film reels that compile footage clips from various dates. Subjects include the following:
Premier W.A.C. Bennett on the PGE Railway:
- Vancouver to Prince George Trip with Premier Bennett, 1958
- Fort St. James Opening of Line with Premier Bennett, 1 August 1968
- Opening of Squamish Car Shop with Premier Bennett, 1970
- Fort Nelson Opening of Line with Premier Bennett, September 1971
- First Revenue Train South from Fort Nelson with Premier Bennett, 1971
PGE Track Inspection and New Construction:
- V-8 PGE Track Inspection
- V-10 PGE Track Inspection
- V-10 Track Inspection
- Fort Nelson South to Fort St. John, October 1971
- Cariboo, Williams Lake Stampede, and PGE Track Inspection
Seton Lake:
- Seton Portage Steam Train Wreck Recovery, 1 April 1954
- Open Air Passenger Cars riding along Seton and Anderson Lake
- Budd Car from Shalath and Seton Lake to Kelly Lake
- Budd Car running along Seton Lake
Fonds consists of the personal records of Nedra (Ginty) Jane Paul [b. ca.1920-d. 1990]. Personal records include the 1938 Lord Byng High School Annual, 2 teaching certificates, and 1 photograph. Paul worked as a teacher in the Chilcotin and Bella Coola regions of BC and the primary items of the collection are 8 recordings generated by her with members of First Nations Communities at Alkali, Red Stone, Kleena Kleene and Bella Coola from 1964-1971. There are 8 original audio reel to reel recordings (and 2 tapes which are copies of the recordings later created by P.J. Thomas, who accompanied Paul on the interviews). Recordings include stories and songs.
Paul, Nedra JaneWillard Freer, a packer and guide in remote northern BC, kept a daily diary from 1942 to 1975 that provides a detailed record of life in northern BC and southern Yukon Territory. This collection consists of digital replicas of Willard Freer's diaries from 1942 to 1975, along with accompanying transcripts created by Jay Sherwood, who authored a book about Freer's life.
Excerpts describing the Freer Diaries from "Kechika Chronicler: Willard Freer's Northern BC & Yukon Diaries, 1942-1975" by Jay Sherwood (2023), pages 14-17:
In a letter that [Willard Freer] wrote in 1935, he stated that he had started keeping a diary when he left home. Unfortunately, his early diaries have been lost. In the summer of 1939, while Freer was away working, the BC Provincial Police investigated his neighbour Frank "Shorty" Weber as a suspect in a local murder. The police seized Freer's diaries from his trapping cabin as potential evidence. Freer wrote to the police requesting the return of his diaries, but he never received them. Fortunately, Freer had made copies of his diaries for the summers of 1932 and 1934. His diary for 1934 is particularly important because he was a member of the Bedaux Expedition.
Freer's existing diaries begin in the spring of 1942, when he was still living in the Ingenika River valley, and continue until 1975. The notebook for 1950 and 1951 is missing, and the January to September 1961 section has been removed. ...
Throughout his adult life, Freer wrote a daily journal. The entries are usually brief and direct, with minimal philosophizing. They are often repetitive, describing daily routines. However, the cumulative narrative of Freer's diaries provides a rare look into the history of one of British Columbia's most remote areas.
The pantheon of people recorded in Freer's diaries include many notable individuals who lived and worked in the Kechika River valley and along the Alaska Highway. Willard's journals provide details about specific events in the lives of these people. There are many references to the famous bush pilots Stan Bridcut and George Dalziel. He notes several prospectors who are well-known in northern BC and Yukon.
Willard's work involved extensive travel through northern BC and Yukon. His diaries provide details about the locations he visited. In particular, Freer kept an important record of travel on the Davie Trail between Fort Ware and Lower Post. For every overnight trip he made, Freer recorded the campsite he used, and the amount of time he spent travelling each day.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the Kaska and Kwadacha Tsek'ene still followed their traditional yearly rounds in the Kechika drainage. Freer's diaries detail the lives and routines of numerous Indigenous people over many years. Some of them are mentioned over a hundred times in Freer's diaries. By all accounts, Willard had good relationships with the Indigenous people. In the remote northern BC and Yukon region, where there were few people, working co-operatively was important.
Willard lived and worked at Skook Davidson's Diamond J Ranch during most of the 1940s and at intervals in the 1950s, so his journals provide considerable information about Skook and life at the ranch.
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Freer's diaries contain considerable information about daily life in the lodges along the Alaska Highway.
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Freer was involved in many important projects in northern BC and Yukon. He was a member of the famous 1934 Bedaux Expedition. Freer was a packer for BC and federal government survey crews for several summers; worked on the British Columbia-Yukon Boundary Survey for four years; was employed on Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) crews for several years; and spent three field seasons on the BC government's Forest Inventory program. Willard also packed for a couple of large mining exploration companies and was a hunting guide for Robin Dalziel and other guide outfitters.
Freer's diaries can also be used to monitor events like the weather and snowfall. In the winter, when he lived at Skook's ranch or at his cabin, he recorded the temperature in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. He also noted snowfalls. Willard recorded the date that the Kechika froze over in the fall, and when the ice melted off the river in the spring. He also noted his first observations of birds in the spring.
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The diaries of Willard Freer, which chronicle over thirty years of life in northern BC, are a unique account, providing a gateway to many of the people who lived there and some of the important events that occurred.
Collection consists of 1 map of "Status of Sustained-Yield Forestry Programme as at December 31, 1969" by British Columbia Department of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources and 10 pages of handwritten instructions for opening a ranger station in Smithers and annual Forest Insect and Disease Survey, dated 1980.
The Helen Mustard Collection consists of textual records, audiocassettes and copies of publications relating to the history of Mackenzie Townsite and Rocky Mountain Trench region of Northern British Columbia
Collection consists of 1 document on lichens entitled "Common Lichen of the Prince George Area and Their Importance to Caribou," prepared by Susan Stevenson for Northwood Pulp and Timber Limited, British Columbia Fish and Wildlife Branch.
Stevenson, SusanCollection consists of 140 photographs pertaining to the life and pursuits of James Joseph Claxton over the course of sixty years. Subject areas identified within this collection include: quartz and placer mining in the Cariboo; Kingcome Village; the Royal Irish Contabulary; Roderick's Jewelers, New Westminster; the "M.S. Columbia III"; Kwakiutl petrographs in Fort Rupert; totem poles at Alert Bay; and the Salmon Arm Boy Scouts of Canada group.
Claxton, James JosephCollection consists of a travel scrapbook created by Jill Singleton documenting a trip to Alaska, Yukon, Haida Gwaii, and northern BC. Includes photographs, ephemera, handwritten notes, pamphlets, issues of local newspapers, and maps.
Fonds consists of one copy of a manuscript of Harry Weaver's autobiography and copies of various accompanying records, as well as one black & white copy print photograph depicting the Weaver family.
Weaver, HarryCollection includes approximately 940 slides taken during the construction of the Tumbler Ridge Electric Railway during the early 1980s. Locations include the Anzac siding, the BC Rail Stuart subdivision, the Chetwynd subdivision, the Parsnip River area, Quintette, the Table River area, railway pipeline crossings, and the Wolverine River area, among others.
Fonds consists of 4 audio recordings of interviews related to the opening of the University of Northern British Columbia, including Jean Forsythe, Russ Clinton, John Chapman, and Charlie Lasser. All were interviewed by T. Cattell.
Collection contains a signed Spruce Kings hat, a signed game puck and a letter to Al Lefebvre of UNBC.
Collection consists of material created or received by the British Columbia Utilities Commission for the Kemano Completion Project Review. This material was copied for reference for the Commissioner of the Kemano Completion Project Review, Dr. Peter Larkin. Includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, BCUC documents, information requests from the registered participants in the review, submissions to the public review and community hearings from participants, and exhibits submitted for inclusion in the review.
Collection consists of documents and a photograph album from the Department of Indian Affairs including publications, working papers, and reports related to First Nations affairs and administration.
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern DevelopmentCollection consists of over 120 images, copy prints, originals, digitized images, postcards and reproductions of textual materials relating to the pioneers, wildlife, and trapping of the Prince George region.
Boudreau, JackCollection consists of records regarding the Kemano Completion Project collected by four scientists that were involved in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans review of Alcan’s project. The majority of the material consists of copies of publications related to the scientists’ research and activities, many of which were written or annotated by them, such as reprints of journal articles, draft scientific reports, government publications, and newspaper clippings. Original scientific research records comprise raw data, field notes, memoranda, and draft reports. Includes correspondence regarding the Nechako River court action between DFO, Alcan, and the province and scientific reports that were created in anticipation of the case. Also includes significant material emanating from the British Columbia Utilities Commission Kemano Completion Project Public Review, such as correspondence, BCUC newsletters and news releases, exhibits and evidence submitted to the review panel, documents produced for the hearings, and final reports. In addition, includes records and publications relating to various other groups affected by the Kemano Completion Project or arising because of it, such as the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, the Rivers Defense Coalition, the Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program, the Nechako Watershed Council, the Nechako Environmental Enhancement Fund, and the Nechako River Alliance.
Alderdice, DonFonds consists of textual records, 24 photographs, 6 video recordings, 4 microcassettes, and 1 floppy disc from the 27-28 March 1998 We're All Here to Stay Delgamuukw forum.
Collection consists of 1 video recording (VHS) entitled "Uncorrupted : The Story of Rose Prince." The documentary, originally shown on EWTN, asks "Will Rose Prince be British Columbia's First Saint?" Director/Producer Ken Frith travels across British Columbia, Canada on twelve occasions to interview people about Rose Prince. Each journey is recorded as a short travel log showing the environment in which the interviewee lives. In addition, the film records the events taking place at the annual July pilgrimage to her gravesite at Lejac and the fact that miracles are being associated with the use of dirt from Rose's grave.