Port Essington

Port Essington, on the southern shore of the Skeena River, is now almost a ghost town. But before the runs declined and the canneries moved to Prince Rupert, where labour was cheaper, it was, like Butedale, a major cannery center for the north coast. Port Essington is located on the Skeena River estuary, 29 kilometres southeast of Prince Rupert at 54º09’N, 129º57’W. The area is also known for silver, gold and copper deposits located nearby.

In 1862, Robert Cunningham came to the area by way of the Anglican Church Missionary Society bound for Metlakatla. Cunningham left the Society four years later, choosing instead to work for the Hudson's Bay Company. Cunningham started a general mercantile business at what would develop into Port Essington around 1870. This venture expanded, with a branch store being built in Hazelton. Cunningham was also the owner of the Skeena Cannery in Port Essington and a member of the Church of England at Port Essington.

Commencing around 1891, Port Essington became the site of the Hudson's Bay Company's sternwheeler traffic in the area. The Hudson's Bay Company launched a succession of steamboats that operated between Port Essington and Hazelton for the next two decades.

Works Cited

Alaska Cruise.com. “Port Essington and the Skeena River Salmon Fishery”. Coastal Publishing and Loft Publishing, 2005. http://alaskacruise.com/PortEss.htm

Bartleby.com. “Port Essington”. Columbia University Press, 2000. http://wwwl.bartleby.com/69/32/P07032.html

Canoe Network. “Frontier Freight: Pack Trains of the Skeena”. Digital Wizards, 2003. http://www.greatcanadianrivers.com/rivers/skeena/history-home.html

Archives Association of British Columbia. “Anglican Diocese of Caledonia Archives”. 2005 Cinema Software. http://aabc.bc.ca/WWW.angbc.archbc/display.ANGCAL-236