Prince George and Area Postmasters/Mistresses
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Aleza Lake The name is said to have been taken from an elderly Indian woman that lived in the area. The name itself was officially submitted in July 1913 by G. U. Ryley, Land Commissioner of the G.T.P. Railway, which in turn built a station at Aleza Lake in 1914. Sawmills were the mainstay of the little community and the Post Office and General Store opened in December 1915. J.
A. Davidson
1915 - 1920 Chief Lake The origin of the name is unknown although it was mentioned in an annual report to the Minister of Land as early as 1913. Agrigulture was the biggest appeal of Chief Lake although that industry had to be supplemented with other activities, such as trapping, in the winter months. Logging and the local sawmill which was built in the 1920's, also provided a firm resource base. The first Post Office was located in the home of Charles H. Vansomer and after forty years, in 1957, it was relocated to Nukko Lake. In 1955 Chief Lake's Postmaster, William Ferguson, was killed in a fire which destroyed both the General Store and the Post Office. C.
H. Vansomer
1915 - 1917 Cranberry Lake Cranberry Lake's first settler was Alexander McCurdy, who came from the Okanagan in 1907. With the completion of the G.T.P. Railway, the area opened up to settlers and mills were built to meet their needs for housing. The first Post Office opened in 1913 by Mrs. Adeline Couture. The Cranberry Lake Post Office became the Swift Creek Post Office in 1918. Both Post Offices had close ties to the Cox family - Ernest Cox came from London, England in 1913. He married Lillian, also from London, and the couple had two daughters. The Post Office was moved into the Cox home where Lillian served as Postmistress for forthy years. In 1928 it was moved to Valemount where he continued to act as Postmistress until 1954. J.
T. Doolan
1913 - 1914 Croydon Station The name was taken from an English village and although the station at Croydon was merely a flag stop the G.T.P. was instrumental to settlers of the area. It was the only means of access as there were no roads. In the beginning the lumber industry was the mainstay of Croydon but by 1928 the numer of inhabitants in the area had dropped from 100 in 1921 to only 15. A.
McDougall
1917 - 1919 Dewey The name was that of one of the G.T.P. officials and was submitted in 1913 by G. U. Ryley. The first Post Office opened on February 1, 1915. In 1956 the Dewey Post Office amalgamated with the Cornell Mills Post Office which in turn became the McGregor Post Office in April 1966. Although Dewey had quite a large population, complete with mills and school, it had pretty much faded from existence by 1950. G.
Rousell
1915 - 1921 Dome Creek Named after Dome Mountain, Dome Creek's population may have reached as many as 2,000 during the construction of the G.T.P. One of the first families to settle the area was the Hooker family. J.
D. Kendall
1916 - 1919 Dunster G.
A. Hall
1915 - 1920 Giscome The settlement of Giscome was named in 1914. It was originally called Eaglet Lake and was first established in 1911. Giscome was developed around a sawmill that had been built in Willow River in 1916 and moved in 1917. In 1923 the mill was purchased by the Winton brothers of Minneapolis who re-named it Eagle Lake Spruce Mills. The first store was owned by Connelly and Grayer. The first teacher in 1916 was Mr. Apps. C.
Lindstrom
1915 - 1918 Giscome Portage The Giscome Portage was named for John Robert Giscome, a Jamaican miner who followed the route in 1863. It consisted of a nine mile connection between Summit Lake and the Fraser River. Because it was an important stop for fur traders, miners and others, A. G. Hamilton operated a store and in 1905 Albert James Huble and Edward Seebach pre-empted land on the Fraser River at the south end of the portage. The decline of Giscome Portage began with World War 1 when men left the area to join the war effort. In 1919 the portage was by-passed when a road was built from Prince George to Summit Lake. A.
J. Huble
1915 (open November and December only Henningsville (later to become Tete
Jaune Cache) Named for Mr. Henning, a contractor for the Canadian Northern Railway and was located at the head of the navigation on the Fraser River. It was a continuation of the warehouses and wharfs that dotted the Fraser River from Mile 52 at Tete Jaune Cache to Mile 49, as Henningville was called. Businesses in 1913 included the Austin brothers store and Tupper's pool hall. In 1917 the post office at Tete Jaune Cache closed and when the town disappeard Henningville assume the name of Tete Jaune Cache. The first teacher was Miss Dorothy Baxter and in her time the population reached 2,000 - 3,000 residents. J.
T. Doolan
1913 - 1914 Hutton Mills Named for Sir Alfred Smithers, Chairman of the Board of the G.T.P. Railway and was established in 1914. A fire around 1926 destroyed Hutton Mills, causing most of its population to leave although a few remained to farm. The planer continued to operate and a small portable mill was set up. During World War 2 Hutton Mills provided the birch plywood that was used to build 'Mosquito' war planes. The first school opened in 1919 with Mr. S. Oswald as teacher and in the 1920's there was a hospital headed by Dr. Lashly, a laundry and a bakery. At its peak it boasted a population of some 800 - 1000 people. W.
A. Willits
1917 - 1918 Longworth A.
E. Read
1915 - 1918 (closed from 1918 - 1920) Loos Mrs.
A. Martin
1916 - 1919 Lucerne Mrs. L. Noren 1942 - 1945 Lucerne Station (later became Lucerne) G.
D. Heal
1914 - 1917 McBride (Lucerne) T.
R. Lloyd
1914 - 1936 Penny N.
Pederson
Feb 1, 1916 - Sep 1, 1919 Prince George E.
Pooke
Aug 1, 1914 - Jun 12, 1922 South Fort George W.
J. DeBeck
Sept 1, 1910 - Swift Creek A.
Couture
1918 - Tete Jaune Cache F. L. Martin 1917 |