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ntil 1952, the history of the Peace River Country was intimately associated with the boats, and the boats with the history.

So opens the book, Where go the boats…. Between 1792 and 1952 the best, and some times only way, into the Peace Country was by boat. Of course the first boats were canoes and were used by both the aboriginal people and the white traders. In later years the North West Mounted Police even used canoes, although police officials seemed to have been more concerned with the correct painting of their canoes than with the efficiency of the vessel for its purpose. N.C.O.’s along the river pleaded for power launches, the better to patrol their domains. They received permission to paint their canoe, provided the correct color scheme was used. “Canoes are to be painted black with a yellow band 1˝ inches running from end to end, 3 inches below the gunwale and the letters R.N.W.M.P., the division letters and division, number of canoe, painted at both ends on opposite sides….” reads one directive.

By the turn of the 20th century traffic on the river had increased to a point where up to 200 boats could be on the river at high water. These boats ranged in size from rafts right up to the stern wheelers and carried every thing from people to live stock to lumber, and everything in between. The first dairy cow brought to the Peace came in by boat and was deposited at the Bear Flat landing for the Dopp family.

Space is limited so I will touch on the more famous boats which plied the Peace River.

The steamer, Peace River, a sternwheeler 110 feet long, had passenger accommodations for 25 and a freight capacity of about 80 tons. The Bay usually managed each season to complete three trips from Fort Vermillion to Fort St. John and return, a distance of about 500 miles. On one occasion in 1906, Captain Guillion had taken the boat as far as Hudson’s Hope. In 1908, the government installed a new ferry at Peace River Crossing. On the first trip up from Fort Vermillion that year, the steamer’s stack had to be cut to get under the cables.

The Grenfell enjoyed a healthy share of the traffic and trade on the river, first under Captain Magar and later with Captain Forrest in command. On one trip in 1912, Allie Brick shipped as cook when the regular man took ill. He regaled the passengers with tall tales of the north. The Cadenhead family were aboard for that occasion. Douglas Cadenhead remained to become one of the most famous river men on the Peace, operating first for himself and later both as pilot, on the D.A. Thomas and as superintendent in charge of the Weenusk for the Hudson’s Bay.

The middle of September 1914, disaster struck the Grenfell. The little steamer had been grounded on a sandbar about 15 miles above Fort St. John; all but two members of the crew were busy returning freight to St. John’s when the Grenfell suddenly became afire. Since there were only the two men on board and no steam, she soon was a mass of flames.

“Largest Steamboat to Ply the Canadian Inland Waters!” rang the headline in the Peace River Record, June 2, 1916 announcing the launching of the D.A. Thomas. Granted this claim is exaggerated, but she was the largest ever to serve the Mackenzie River system, and she was a beauty.

The D.A. Thomas provided her passengers with the utmost in comfort and conveniences. The large staterooms were equipped with electricity as well as hot and cold running water. Lower berths were 36 inches wide, rather than the usual 30 inches. Uppers were standard, 26 inches. The dining lounge boasted white linen and the finest silver. Attractive saloons, or parlours, for ladies and gentlemen, added to the comfort of the passengers. From 1916, until the close of navigation in 1921, the D.A. Thomas plied the Peace under captains Bucey and Herrling, her strident whistle a familiar sound from Hudson’s Hope to the Vermillion Chutes. On a more personal note, local pioneer Woodrow Chapple, who still lives in Fort St. John, arrived in this country as a young lad with his parents on the D.A. Thomas. Following several groundings and mishaps, the D.A. Thomas limped to her final resting place at Fort Fitzgerald, her parts used in other boats. To clear the beach during the Canol project, the huge wheelshaft was buried.