The First Bridge at Shuswap Falls

(Tenth Report - 1943) -W.G. Procter- With permission of the Okanagan Historical Society The first bridge over the river at Shuswap Falls was built in the fall of 1892. There were a few inches of snow on the ground at the time and Louis Christian was the foreman on the job. Fred Finlayson with his team hauled the logs for it, which were got nearby. Fred Warner, Hugh Gibson, George Hunter, Gilbert Gladwin and myself worked on it. The stringers were of heavy bull pine and sixty feet long, and as the rocks on either side were only forty-five feet apart, the stringers reached well up onto the rocks. The stringers, when the bridge was completed, were twenty-eight feet above the water in the river that was low at the time. The covering was twelve feet wide, of round and split poles, and there was a handrail on either side. Alec McDonell of Blue Springs lent us his hayfork rope and blocks. We got a couple of light stringers across first and got the heavy stringers across on rollers, and everything went well. The bridge was a great convenience to the settlers below the falls. At the time the bridge was built, V.L.E. Miller, who was then living at the Falls, had a cable across the river about half a mile below the Falls, with a boat...in the same year, 1892, F.H. Latimer surveyed about 18,000 acres in Townships 40, 43, and 44, where these claims were situated so that we knew where our boundary lines ran. The survey of this land was Gazetted on May 4, 1893. The year 1894 was the year of the unprecedented high water. For ten days or two weeks the train stopped running between Vernon and Sicamous, and the mail had to be brought in from Kamloops by stage. All the flat lands between the Falls and Mabel Lake were under water. By that time I was the only settler living between the Falls and Mabel Lake, with Fred Finlayson still living at the Falls and George Slack in Squaw Valley. All the other settlers had abandoned their claims except Fred H. Barnes who had proved up on his claim and eventually secured the Crown Grant for it. During the high water I went up to see how the bridge was. I found the stringers about 12 feet above the water in the river; but at one end of the water, which was coming down with terrific force, ran up where the rock and sloping and had washed out the earth and undermined the stringers. It did not cost much to repair the damage and the bridge rendered good service for another 8 years. In 1902 it was damaged by fire and a new one had to be built. Sometimes now when I visit the Falls and note the splendid structure that now serves as a bridge and the mighty dam impounding the water of the river the penstock and generator plant of the Power Company all so efficiently planned and built and so expensive, it seems a far cry back to the time when a few of us were pulling desperately on Alec McDonnell's hay-fork rope trying to get those heavy Bull Pine stringers across on rollers that were everlasting getting twisted and out of line. But it was our bridge, and we were free men in those days. The Government then in power was less tyrannical than the one we have now, and we were free to work as many hours in the day as we liked in getting our $125-bridge built which was such a boon to the settlers. The potholes in the gorge are a noticeable feature at the Falls...The rocks at the Falls in other respects are interesting to observe whether one knows much about geology or not. (some of them were six feet across) Their structure and formation are suggestive: "Primal masses folded bent By a hand omnipotent" So, there you are, just a little step back in time. Shuswap Falls today has yet another new bridge, but the falls are just as beautiful. The drive up with a picnic lunch makes a perfect Sunday outing. We'll be doing more 'Looking Back' in coming months. If you enjoy local history the annual publications of the Okanagan Historical Society are available in local bookstore and libraries. Shuswap River Access The Shuswap River Recreation Areas within the North Okanagan Region of British Columbia, are situated along the Shuswap River between Mabel Lake and Sugar Lake. From Vernon, follow Highway #6 east to Lumby, and then continue 15 km on Mabel Lake Road to reach the Shuswap Falls Recreation Area. Continue on Highway #6 for 18 km to reach the Shuswap River Picnic Area. The Sugar Lake Dam Viewpoint is accessible via the Sugar Lake Road from Cherryville. History and Hydroelectric Operation The West Canadian Hydro Electric Corporation constructed the Wilsey Dam and generating station at Shuswap Falls in 1929. Later the BC Power Commission succeeded the Corporation, which in turn, became BC Hydro. The concrete dam was built at the site of the original 21-metre-high Shuswap Falls while the spillway channel was blasted through solid rock immediately to the north. Initially, the facility used only water available in the Shuswap River, without a storage reservoir (run-of-the-river). The Shuswap River flows powered this 4000 HP generating unit. In 1942, a second dam was constructed at the outlet of Sugar Lake to create storage and increased generating potential. This new dam allowed for another 4000 HP generating unit at Shuswap Falls, which translates to another 5.2 MW of capacity. From 1929 to 1951, the Shuswap Falls facility provided most of the electric power for the North Okanagan region.

 

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