By E.T, Kenney;

sportation in t
River Valley. In 1866 the 5.8,
Mumford, the first steam-
boat on the Skeena’: River,
was attempting to: bring
supplies up river for the
Collins Overland Telegraph

Company. She got no further |

than the riffle in the Skeena
just south of Terrace. Here

- she made a cache of supplies

to be transpdrted by cance
and the Terrace area served
its first function as a tran:
aportation link. :
. By. 1892 steamboats were a
r occurence on the
Skeena and many - set-
tlements sprung up at
convenient steamboat stops.
Among these were Eby’s
Landing at the western
boundary of Terrace, Eby’s
Landing — boasted a
blacksmith shop, store and
holel. To the east of town
there was another steamboat
atop, Thornhill's homestead.
It was from this pioneer that
the present day community
of Thornhill takes its name.

Nearby was the little
canyon. where the present
C.N.R. and old Skeena River
Bridge cross.the muddy and
often turbulent river, Gn the
Terrace side and slightly
below. the canyon another
-homesteader cleared land in
‘1905, His name was George
Little. It was chiefly his
energy and business en-
terprises which were to
sustain Terrace in its early
years.

At this time, slightly after
the turn of the century, the
ut site af Terrace was

ttle more than a couple of
oy atopy between
‘ort Essington, the port for
the Skeena River and
Hazelton, the head of
steamboat navigation, The

Skeena.

. Major settlement was Kit-
.selas at the lower end of
’ Kitselas Canyon. With the
building of the Grand Trunk -

Pacific Railway Cater part
of the C.N.B.), which started
in 1906, all this was to
ay latora alo

Many speculatora along
the Skeena started toting up
the imagined profits they
would realize when they sold
to the G.T.P, Among these
were the people at Eby's
Landing who felt sure that
they would be chosen as the
site for a station and yards,
But George Little, the astute
business man that he was,
reallzed there were greater
profits to be had from set-
Hers than a cash deal from
the railway company, In 1911
he gave the land to the
railway company for their
Btation and marshaling
yards, much to the chagrin
of the people at Eby’s
Landing,

At first the embryo town
was called Littleton, but his
name had to be changed as

_ there already was a Post

Office by this name in the
East. Terrace which takes
its name from the benches of
land to the north of the town,
rapidly changed. It was no
longer two Riverboat lan-
dings passed by eager
miners, trappers’ and
homesteaders on their way
to the interior.

By 1914 Terrace boasted a
sawmill near the present site
of the Safeway atore; a Poat
Office and general store
presently” stand, batel sa
presently stand; a on
the site of the present
Terrace Hotel; a hall, now
the Winterland General
Store; a railway station, pool
hall, real estate office and
homes, In 1912 the streets
had been laid out; the main
street, Lakelse Avenue, was
made 68 feet wide instead of
the usual 66 feet due to the

HISTORY OF TERRACE Oo |
ur town over the years

Insistance of ‘the founder,
George Little, who also
planted the trees on this
avenue in the centre of town,
Many of the towns early

residents were relatives of:

George Little who came
from Ontario. In the early
days newcomers were
cautioned not to critisize
their neighbours to othér
residents as most of them
were related.

At this time a Ferry,
located near the new Skeena
Bridge, connected Terrace
to the Thornhill and Lakelse
‘Lake area; a region which
was home for many pre-war
homesteaders. However,
with the completion of the
G.T.P, Railway came the

Firat World War to which —
Terrace sent roughly thirty -

able-bodied men, a sizeable
number for the small
community. For a while the
once quickening tempo of the
district was to stagnate, -

It was during this decade
that the school question was
decided. Hoth communities,
Kalum (Eby's Landing) and
Terrace, felt they were
deserving of the honour. The
vote ended in a deadlock 20-
20. Asite was chosen roughly
between the two com-
munities.

This is the present site of
the Schoo] Board offices at
the corner of Kenney and
Highway 16. Many a student
must have begrudged the
decision of their elders as
they trudged unwillingly
from the centre of town to
school.

In 1921 the Bank of Mon-
treal moved to Terrace and
eventually located at the
corner of Lakelse and
Kalum, the present site of
the Northwest Sportsman. It
was later closed due to the
Depression.

With the coming of World
War Two, new life was

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Terrace

breathed into Terrace. Many
changes took place.

In 1927 Terrace, a com-
munity of less than 300
people, was incorporated
and a Municipal Council
formed. It was during this
period that the Old Skeena
River Bridge was built. For
the reat of the decade
Terrace subsiated on logging
and a little farming as
Terrace weathered the
depression. So far the
community had survived

, extensive forest fires which

burned through many parts
af the present day com-
munity in 1913 and a flood in
1988 which saw at least one
Terrace house floating down
the wild water of the swollen
Skeena River,

The army had a sizeable
camp, many of the buildings
are still being utilized today,
The moat evident being the
old Canadian Cellulose camp
at the corner of Apsely.and
Lakelse and most fittingly,
the Canadian Legion Branch
which was Company Head
Quarter offices.

The Skeenaview Lodge

‘was bullt as a hospital for the

wounded from the Aleutian
campaign of 184. At this
time the Terrace-Kitimat
Airport was also built as a
forwatd base in case of
Japanese invasicn.

‘The war also brought
about the completion of the
Terrace-Prince Rupert

( caréhpusar

The Herald, Tuesday, Uctober «+. 1977, rage 3a

Highway and Terrace's
second transportation link to
the coast, Upon the exodus of
the army Terrace fell heir to
their water system.
However, the army's stay
was not always a happy
affair. It provided ex-
cltement too, in the way of
the little known Terrace
Mutiny. Roughly 3,000 traops
refused to obey their officera
when it wag rumoured that
they were to be sent over-

Seas,
After the war, as British
Columbia’s industrial tempo
increased, the economic
pulse of Terrace also
quickened. With the location
of the Woods Division for
Columbia Cellulose in 1948,
came many new jobs, The
logs from the Kalum Valley
were shipped to Port Ed-
an by rail to be made into

TERRACE AS

FINNING

Equipment for:

With the decision of Alcan
Co, Ltd. to locate .a smelter
at Kitimat, Terrace tookona °
new importance. By 1955 a
railway was completed to
Kitimat and by 1957 there
was also a road link,

By 1960 Terrace was also
the headquarters for the
CFTK radio and television
network. The growth bet-
ween 1056 and the present
has been rapid,

The population in 1956 was
approximately 1,500; today
in the immediate area it Is
close to 15,000. At present
with road and rail links to
Prince George, Prince
Rupert and a road link to
Stewart and the Yukon, as
well as an air link to Van-
couver, Terrace sits astride
the natural communication
linke North, South, East and

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