Water: the reason the mill was built here

BLAST FROM THE PAST

JOËLLE SÉVIGNY

Surrounded by water, the qathet region’s water potential is the main reason why Powell River was settled.

In the late 19th century, Alfred Carmichael sur veyed possible power sites in British Columbia for the development of paper mills. He recommended a list of the most suitable locations which includ ed the Powell River due the large layer and wall of rock which now lays underneath the dam as well as the short separation between the lake, fed from the mountains’ snow melt, and the ocean front.

In 1901, to encourage industrial development in the province, the government of BC issued pulp leas es in various locations including Swanson Bay, Bel la Coola and Quatsino. These leases granted timber and power licenses with a tenure of 21 years and the ability to renew. As per the recommendation, one of the leases was also located on tiskʷat – land inhabited by Indigenous peoples.

This coveted piece of land was taken by the gov ernment of BC in the 1870s, displacing Indigenous peoples. After reserves were implemented, Tla’amin leaders pursued the government to survey more land for their exclusive use, however the Indian Land Commission did no further survey and left all Tla’amin lands outside the reserves open to settle ment and resource extraction.

The timber lease at tiskʷat was initially bought by the Canadian Industrial Company, and the power rights by the Pacific Coast Power Company. One of the terms of these leases, was that by 1909, at least $500,000 needed to be spent on development of a pulp mill, with the daily capacity of 100 tonnes of pulp or 50 tons of paper. The two companies were unable to reach an agreement before the government deadline.

THE FIRST DAM: Construction workers build the dam cross the Powell River in 1911.

Photo courtesy of qathet Museum & Archives.

Subsequently, the Brooks brothers and M.J. Scan lon (Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company) acquired both the timber and water rights, and in 1910 began the construction of the dam on tiskʷat, under the name: the Powell River Paper Company. Some of the earliest photographs of Powell River available in the qathet archives are of the river. Rod LeMay captured pictures of the falls and the river just before it was dammed, as well as the big log jam that was located at the mouth of the river – one of the ways people got across before any bridges were built.

In 1924, to provide additional power for an antic ipated mill expansion, the water level of the Powell River dam was raised by 14 feet to 284 feet above sea level. To expand mill operations again, and to harvest even more energy, in 1930 a temporary log crib dam was built on Lois River, and the permanent Horseshoe dam was completed in 1935. This was replaced by a much larger dam in 1940, called the Scanlon Dam. In 1947, it was raised 20 feet to the height of 421 feet above sea level.

By 1957, Powell River and Lois Lakes were at their maximum capacity for generating power, but to facilitate further mill expansions, the B.C. Electric Company built a 70-mile transmission line from the Lower Mainland to Powell River. Much later, under ownership of Pacifica Papers, all hydro-electric facil ities at Lois and Powell River were sold.

Blast from the Past is written monthly by qathet Muse um and Archives Programs & Education Manager Joëlle Sévigny.

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