Big Bend Country

In the Canadian province of British Columbia, Big Bend Country is the region around the northernmost section of the Columbia River, which changes from a northwestward course along the Rocky Mountain Trench to curve around the northern end of the Selkirk Mountains to head southwest between that range and the Monashee Mountains, which lie to the west. The area is part of the larger Columbia Country, which includes the Columbia Valley and upper Arrow Lakes of eastern British Columbia. The 2,300 square miles (6,000 km²) north of the railway line, and enclosed by the river, roughly defines the Big Bend. However, in earlier eras, the descriptive was more narrowly understood.

Familiar with the river for navigation, the Big Bend is a traditional territory of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) people, but is also claimed by the Ktunaxa. The Blackfoot raided and at times occupied the area.

David Thompson of the Hudson's Bay Company, and later the North West Company, was the first European to travel the upper reaches of the Columbia. In 1811, he landed at the confluence of the Canoe River at what became known as Boat Encampment, near the most northerly point of the bend. This site became a long-established fur trading cache and campsite on the annual York Factory Express. David Douglas visited in 1827. Paul Kane made oil sketches depicting the area in the late 1840s.

In 1864, Governor Frederick Seymour commissioned George Turner to find a suitable route for a road from the coast to the Kootenays. Descending the Columbia from Boat Encampment, his party profitably panned gold while prospecting on the river bars. Scattered groups were panning the tributaries.

In 1865, the government dispatched Walter Moberly to explore from Kamloops to the Canadian Rockies, a partly successful venture. He was the first gold commissioner in the Big Bend area. The next year, he laid out the French Creek settlement site, and developed trails from La Porte, the head of navigation, to the mining creeks.

The Big Bend Gold Rush of 1866 was insignificant compared to other discoveries. In 1869, 37 miners remained at French Creek, and none on the other creeks. Little mining activity occurred 1871–1885. With the arrival of the railway, mining resumed on Carnes, French, McCullough, and Gaffney (Smith) creeks, and the Goldstream. In 1888, heavy snow damaged the Carnes equipment, forcing abandonment. The Revelstoke miners' association, formed in 1890, failed to achieve its lobbying goals. That decade, an operation on McCullough proved to be an investment scam. The French Creek Hydraulic Co. received 20 tons of equipment in 1897, but collapsed the following year. Since 1900, little mining development has occurred.

Established in 1941, Hamber Provincial Park initially included virtually all the eastern part of the enclosed area. However, the federal government merely wanted a narrow road reserve along 18.6 miles (30 km) of the developing highway. Over the years, many timber licences had been issued, but accessibility beyond the railway line prevented logging. The province asked the federal government to buy up these licences. Unsuccessful, the province created a massive park to attract federal acquisition, and the transfer of highway maintenance obligations. The gesture was ignored. Eventually, the park was reopened for logging. When parts were submerged by the reservoir of the Mica Dam, there was insufficient time to clear extensive areas of forest.

SS Forty-Nine provided a Marcus (WA)–La Porte service during 1866, but this dwindled, ceasing in 1871. In the absence of such services, pack trains supplied miners until 1897. SS Lytton operated Revelstoke–La Porte during 1897. In 1901, the Revelstoke Navigation Co. was formed to operate north of Revelstoke. SS Revelstoke ran Revelstoke–La Porte twice weekly 1902–1915 while river depths permitted. After the 1915 fire that destroyed the vessel, all steamer service to Big Bend ceased.