Spences Bridge

Spences Bridge
Former bridge, Spences Bridge, 2014
Spences Bridge Location of Spences Bridge
Coordinates: 50°25′18″N 121°20′38″W / 50.42167°N 121.34389°W / 50.42167; -121.34389
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Thompson
Regional district	Thompson-Nicola
Area [1]
• Land	0.74 km2 (0.29 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	228 m (748 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	76
• Density	102.2/km2 (265/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−08:00 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−07:00 (PDT)
Area code(s)	250, 778, 236, & 672
Highways	Highway 1 Highway 8

Spences Bridge is an unincorporated community primarily on the north bank of the Thompson River in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada.^[3] The place is immediately west of the mouth of the Nicola River and northeast of the junction of BC Highway 1 and BC Highway 8. The locality is by road about 37 kilometres (23 mi) northeast of Lytton, 64 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Merritt, and 43 kilometres (27 mi) south of Ashcroft.

The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) journals called the river junction Little Forks. During the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the convergence of two routes northward from the US and southern BC created a place of some importance.^[4] In 1858, the initial gold discovery was near Nicomen^[5] (later designated Thompson Siding by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP)).^[6][7]

Mortimer Cook operated a ferry and general store.^[4] Cook later sold his hotel to Thomas G. Kirkpatrick,^[8] who also opened a store and a tavern and had the butcher's contract during the Cariboo Road construction. In 1862, the Royal Engineers built 14 kilometres (9 mi) northeastward.^[4] That year, Walter Moberly and Charles Oppenheimer were awarded the contract to build a 5-metre (18 ft) wide wagon road from Lytton. Delays led to an extension, then cancellation, of the contract. With Moberley in charge, the province completed the project^[9] in 1863.^[4]

By December 1860, H.M. Ball, Assistant Gold Commissioner, established a ferry worked by ropes and blocks, which he leased to Mortimer Cook and James Kimball in January 1862. Kimball died that March, and Cook held the lease until 1865.^[10] This ferry across the Thompson had an 8-oxen capacity, and prospectors renamed the locality Cook's Ferry.^[11]

Pack trains comprised 16 to 48 mules. Taking its cue from the bell on the lead mare, each mule would maintain its position in the procession.^[12] On one occasion in 1862, when the lead mare's bell began ringing during a ferry crossing, a mule still on the departure side plunged into the river to follow the bell sound. Two packers jumped in and cut loose the four kegs of nails from its back, saving the animal.^[13]

Thomas Spence built a bridge, which opened in spring 1864 but washed away within weeks. The second bridge opened in March 1865, and the ferry was discontinued.^[8] John Clapperton was the first toll collector^[14] on the 183-metre (600 ft) structure.^[4] John Murray was next^[14] for this bridge that Captain William Irving owned.^[4] First Nations were exempted from paying tolls.^[8] In 1868, the charter was extended to collect tolls for a further two and a half years^[15] and then continued during the following decade.^[16]

By 1866, the locality was being called Spence's Bridge.^[17] By 1872, Cooks Ferry was considered the former name.^[18] However, both names were in simultaneous use over a decade later.^[19]

When Irving sold the bridge to the province in 1882, tolls were abolished, but reinstated in 1885, when John Glassey became toll collector.^[14]

The 1894 flood destroyed the bridge.^[20] The province subsidized^[21] the replacement ferry.^[22] During high water in 1897, one of the towers collapsed, dropping the ferry cable into the river. The operator cut the cable to prevent capsizing. After drifting 10 kilometres (6 mi) downriver, all six on board were rescued from a sandbar.^[23] The destroyed scow was replaced.^[24]

In 1900, following poor performance by the contractor, the province took over the operation.^[25] The toll-free cable reaction ferry ran 7am to 6pm, with a charge for Sunday and after hour requests. Residents remained dissatisfied with the primitive ferry scow. To move cattle directly across the river, ranchers would drive them 74 kilometres (46 mi) via Ashcroft. During the fruit shipping season, capacity limitations caused lengthy delays. The ferry was frequently out of operation. During high water the waves washed over the deck, and at other times the scow broke away and floated downstream. Such narrow escapes questioned passenger safety.^[26]

In 1909, a 189-metre (620 ft) bridge was built across the Thompson, which comprised three 44-metre (144 ft) howe trusses, a 19-metre (63 ft) king truss, and trestle bent approaches.^[27]

In early 1930, the substructure for the new bridge spanning the Thompson was completed.^[28] Western Bridge Co was awarded the superstructure contract ($62,845).^[29] An employee painting the steelwork was bitten by a rattlesnake and later died in hospital.^[30] In summer 1930, this 232-metre (760 ft) high level concrete and steel structure replaced the timber truss one.^[29]

Contracts awarded mid-century were the 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi) bridge bypass to Dawson, Wade & Co ($160,842) in 1959–60,^[31] the bridge substructure to Northern Construction Co and J.W. Stewart ($286,000) in 1960–61,^[32] and the superstructure to Western Bridge & Steel Fabricators ($644,527) in 1961–62.^[33]

In 1961, a small plane made an emergency landing on the unopened bypass.^[34] In 1962, the contract for the lightweight concrete deck was awarded to C.E. Barker ($81,440).^[35] That December, the bridge/bypass opened.^[36]

In 2009, the former bridge became restricted to foot and bike traffic.^[37]

A 2013 review concluded that the former bridge could collapse under its own weight due to snow and wind loading.^[38] In 2015, this bridge was closed and the superstructure removed, leaving only the piers as a remnant.^[39]

In 1868, the post office opened.^[3] J.G. Kirkpatrick, who became postmaster the next year,^[40] was followed a few years later by John Murray.^[41] The latter owned most of the land on the north shore,^[42] which became the centre of settlement.^[26] The location was at the 80-mile point on the Cariboo Road. In 1876, Stephen and Phoebe Nelson purchased the 80-Mile Roadhouse adjacent to the south dock of the former ferry, turning it into a hotel and general store. In 1879, a fire destroyed the store, but the hotel was saved.^[43]

In 1881, John Murray upgraded his accommodation to become a better quality hotel called Morton House.^[44] The property comprised 20 bedrooms, two sitting rooms, one large dining room, one small one, a roomy kitchen, a large bar, stables, corral, and outhouses.^[45] Murray's store and Morton House stood on the north shore. Across the Thompson were an inn, stables, store/post office, blacksmith, and CP infrastructure.^[4] The respective hotel proprietors were C. Morton and S.M. Nelson (Cooks Ferry House).^[46] During 1881–1884, Walter R. Megaw operated a branch store.^[47] Opening in 1883 were the F.C. McCartney drug store and a harness and saddlery store. The next year, John and Jessie Anne Smith and James Teit (Murray's nephew) arrived.^[42] Built during the railway construction, the log jail building comprised a few cells and an administrative area.^[48] In 1886, Archibald (Archie) Clemes bought the Nelson's hotel,^[43] and the school opened.^[49]

In 1890, Clemes bought John Murray's main orchard and greenhouses.^[50] In 1894, a new jail was built containing three cells and an administrative area.^[22] After 10 years away, John and Jessie Anne Smith returned on John Murray's death in 1896 and bought part of the estate to develop a neglected orchard.^[51]

Clemes' new 1904 Wolseley, which was the first car in the BC interior,^[52] is now in the Kamloops Museum.^[53] In 1905, John Smith, who had become a successful orchardist with his own brand on apple boxes, died.^[54] Months later, about 800 metres (0.5 mi) west of the settlement, a landslide on the north shore dammed the river and created a massive wave, which swept over the First Nations reserve on the south shore. The new church and all other buildings were destroyed. Graves and gravestones were hurled from the cemetery. First Nations, who made up the 15 fatalities, did not join the intensive search for further victims. The Clemes hotel became a temporary facility for treating the injured. Livestock were rescued from the low lying upstream areas that became flooded. Overwatering the benchland on the reserve above the slide was considered the cause of the disaster.^[55]

Mrs. Smith continued to manage the 142-hectare (350-acre) ranch, which harvested hundreds of tons of apples each year.^[26] During 1906–1910, she won awards for apples at the Royal Horticultural Exhibition, London.^[56] King Edward VII expressed his fondness for apples exported by "Widow Smith of Spences Bridge".^[57] The surrounding ranches were all heavy producers of hay, potatoes, grain, fruit, and cattle.^[26] In 1908, more rooms were added to the Clemes Hotel.^[58]

In 1910, Clemes Hall was enlarged^[59] and was the venue for the Christmas eve school concert.^[60] Also that year, St Michael and All Angels Anglican church (first built and destroyed in 1905) was rebuilt.^[61] In 1911, a new one-room school building was tendered.^[62] Although a resident constable is not mentioned until this time,^[63] assumedly one had been present to manage the jail since the 1880s. In 1912, electricity was installed in the Clemes' hotel and store.^[64] At the time, the community had stockyards, two hotels, two general stores, a pool room, confectioners, and a population of about 300.^[65] In 1913, a new jail/constable residence was built.^[66]

In 1922, Archie Clemes, who was dubbed "The Owner of Spences Bridge", died.^[67] The will left almost all his estate to his two sons.^[68] However, the discovery of a codicil resulted in the estate being more equally apportioned among each son, a brother, and a sister.^[69] In 1926, a new one-room school building was tendered.^[70] The next year, bighorn mountain sheep were reintroduced to the area.^[71] In 1928, a fire caused considerable damage to the rear part and basement of Carl Ellingsen's general store.^[72]

In 1939, the wife of the lessee of the Clemes Estate Hotel was fatally burned when flammable cleaning fluid ignited. The resulting blaze almost totally destroyed the building. The volunteer fire brigade kept the fire from spreading to the store and a filling station immediately east and west.^[73] Months later, the rebuild included extensions to create a fully licensed hotel.^[74]

In 1945, fire destroyed the interior of the hotel beer parlour.^[75] In 1946, Jessie Anne Smith died.^[76]

About 1950, the Acacia Grove tourist cabins opened.^[77] In 1953, the forerunner of BC Hydro bought the local electricity utility.^[78]

In 1963, the Sportsman Motel and adjacent Shell station opened upon First Nations land on N. Frontage Rd, which parallels the bypass.^[79] A Texaco station also opened about this time,^[80] and the Quarter Circle J Motel opened in the 1960s^[81] or possibly the 1950s.^[82]

In 1973, Kumsheen Raft Adventures, providing a whitewater experience from Spences Bridge to Lytton, was launched.^[83] In 1977, the Spences Bridge Log Cabin Inn opened on Chucker Cres across the river from the closed Spences Bridge Hotel.^[84]

By the early 1980s, the store traded as the Riverview General Store.^[85] In 1989, the hotel, vacant since 1971, was purchased and renovations began.^[86]

In 1991, the RCMP detachment closed.^[87] That year, the renovated former hotel reopened as the Steelhead Inn.^[88] In 1992, the library closed.^[89]

By the late 1990s, the Quick Stop Convenience Store was the shopping venue.^[90] The Acacia Grove property comprised 9 motel units, 39 RV sites, and a tenting area.^[91] The struggling Steelhead Inn was subject to a court-ordered sale.^[92]

The log station building used during construction was replaced in 1884 by the standard-design (Bohi's Type 5) single-storey station building with gable roof and dormers (identical to Keefers).^[93] That September, the northeastward advance of the CP rail head from Yale reached the south shore.^[94] Months later, the caboose of a construction train derailed.^[95]

In 1885, the fireman died when the locomotive and eight cars of a westbound train derailed about 14 kilometres (8.5 mi) northeast.^[96] Months later, a train struck a man lying on the track, causing fatal head injuries.^[97] In 1887, six cars of a freight train derailed about 5 kilometres (3 mi) southwest.^[98]

In 1896, striking a fallen boulder upon the track extensively damaged a locomotive.^[99] In 1899, the station was replaced with the standard-design Plan H-I-20-6 (Bohi's Type 1) split level station building (identical to Ashcroft).^[93]

In 1901, fire destroyed the station house.^[100] The next year, a section hand on a speeder was fatally dismembered in a head on collision with an eastbound locomotive near Gladwin.^[101] In 1903, a brakeman who fell from a westbound freight train was mortally injured.^[102] In 1905, an eastbound passenger train struck and killed a man walking along the track.^[103] When a freight train ran into a passenger train at Thompson Siding in 1906, the rear car of the latter derailed.^[104] That yearend, six cars of an eastbound freight train derailed at the same place.^[105]

In 1910, 10 cars of an eastbound passenger train derailed about 5 kilometres (3 mi) southwest. A brakeman in the wrecking crew sustained serious injuries on falling over 30 metres (100 ft) down to the river.^[106] That yearend, two cars of a fast silk train derailed, plunged down an embankment, and entered the river. Some of the cargo was recovered, but the financial loss was enormous.^[107] In 1911, when a man attempting to board an eastbound passenger train leaving the station fell beneath the wheels, he was killed instantly.^[108] Months later, a brakeman, who fell from the ladder attached to a freight car, sustained fatal injuries when the wheels passed over his chest.^[109]

In 1912, an eastbound freight train ran into the rear of a stationary freight train at Toketic. Several cars derailed and the locomotive engineer died in hospital.^[110] The next year, a train struck and killed a man sitting on the track.^[111] During switching in 1914, a freighthopper slipped from a freight car and was torn apart.^[112] That year, the station garden rated as one of the prettiest along the line.^[113] When a slide carried away the track bed in 1918, the locomotive, tender, and baggage car, of an eastbound passenger train derailed.^[114] In 1919, the locomotive and next two cars of an eastbound passenger train overturned just to the northeast.^[115]

In 1924, a parked locomotive built up steam of its own accord, departed the rail yard and slowly headed northeastward. Meanwhile, the locomotive engineer of a westbound passenger train received the three-whistle signal to call at Toketic. There, the irate conductor alighted to ask the engineer why they had stopped, disputing whether the signal cord had actually been pulled. On beginning to accelerate from the station, the crew in the cab spotted the runaway locomotive ahead. After fully engaging the brakes, they both jumped off into the snow, leaving their locomotive to decelerate before gently nudging into the runaway. Miraculously, the unexpected Toketic stop had prevented a devastating collision.^[116]

In 1928, a train fatally struck a CP watchman allegedly asleep on his speeder at Thompson.^[117] The next month, a freighthopper made a fatal fall from a train about 800 metres (0.5 mi) from Spences Bridge.^[118] In 1929, a man attempted to board a moving freight train departing the station, fell beneath the caboose wheels, lost his legs, and later died.^[119]

In 1930, the new bridge across the Nicola River, which was 6 metres (20 ft) higher than the previous one, was completed.^[28] In 1932, a man boarding an eastbound freight train, slipped, crushed his arm beneath the wheels,^[120] and died in hospital.^[121] In 1938, two wheels of an eastbound passenger train derailed a few miles southwest.^[122]

In 1949, 15 cars of a 59-car vegetable train derailed^[123] at Toketic.^[124]

In 1950, a train struck and killed a man crossing the track 5 kilometres (3 mi) northeast.^[125] In 1951, the westbound royal train carrying Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip made a 10-minute stop, where the royal couple alighted and greeted the crowd on the platform.^[126]

In 1954, two juvenile delinquents derailed a locomotive after five attempts.^[127] In 1957, a passenger train struck and killed an individual trying to remove his speeder from the track.^[128] In 1959, the westbound royal train carrying the Queen and Prince Philip made a stop, where the royal couple alighted, walked the platform, and chatted with the crowd.^[129]

In 1967, a woman crawling under a stationary freight train was killed when it moved.^[130]

In 1974, when the two lead locomotives of an empty eastbound coal train hit a rockslide and plunged 30 metres (100 ft) down an embankment, two crew members died.^[131] In 1975, 11 cars of an eastbound freight train derailed, two of which plunging 23 metres (75 ft).^[132] In 1978, an assistant roadmaster on a speeder was killed in a head on collision with a locomotive southwest of Spatsum.^[133]

In 1990, the station closed.^[134]

In 2016, an eastbound Via Rail train fatally struck a man walking the track.^[135]

The CP Spences Bridge passing track is 2.2 kilometres (7,350 ft).^[136]

Following inspection of the completed line in March 1907,^[155] tri-weekly passenger service began at the beginning of April.^[156]

A two stall engine house existed from about 1905 until about 1930.^[134] The 180,000 litres; 48,000 US gallons (40,000 imp gal) water tank, which was about 70 metres (230 ft) west of the station, had a double spout to avoid having to take locomotives out on the main line. The wye was used for turning locomotives on the Merritt Subdivision.^[157] ("Former wye, Spences Bridge" (Map). Google Maps.)

The coal bunker, which was installed in 1909^[158] about 140 metres (459 ft) west of the station, had a 122-tonne (135-short-ton) capacity.^[157]

In 1934, the coal chute struck a freighthopper, who fell, lost a leg beneath the wheels, and soon died.^[159]

The replacement 91-tonne (100-short-ton) capacity coal chute stood 1947–1966.^[157]

In 1964, passenger service ended on the branch.^[160]

During 1912, striking construction workers on the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) intimidated strike breakers in the vicinity.^[176] In June 1915, the eastward advance of the CNoR rail head from Port Mann passed through Spences Bridge and reached Mile 176.^[177]

In 1922, a Canadian National Railway (CN) linesman fell 37 metres (120 ft) to his death from a CN bridge.^[178] Months later, fire destroyed the station building.^[179] The next month, an eastbound passenger train struck and killed a CN watchman attempting to remove his speeder from the track near Martel.^[180] In 1926, a freight train did likewise at Spences Bridge.^[181] In 1927, a brakeman, who fell from the top of a boxcar, sustained fatal injuries when run over.^[182]

In 1939, when the eastbound CN royal train made a 15-minute stop, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth came out onto the rear observation platform of their car and they chatted with the crowd.^[183]

In 1949, a mud slide derailed a locomotive and six boxcars.^[184]

In 1951, the eastbound royal train made a 10-minute stop, where the royal couple greeted the crowd from the observation platform of their car.^[185] In 1953, an eastbound train struck and killed a section hand about a mile southwest.^[186] In 1957, a rockslide derailed a locomotive and nine freight cars.^[187] Months later, buckled track derailed 10 freight cars to the southwest.^[188] In 1959, a rockslide derailed^[189] three diesel locomotives and the express and baggage cars of a passenger train a few miles southwest.^[190]

In 1960, a 3-metre (10 ft) high rockslide derailed the two leading units of a westbound passenger train 6 kilometres (4 mi) northeast.^[191] In 1961, a boulder struck the locomotive of an eastbound freight train northeast of Thompson, derailing about 20 cars.^[192] In 1965, two cars of a freight train derailed.^[193]

In 1972, a large rock derailed a diesel locomotive.^[194]

In 1980, the driver died when his pickup plunged about 90 metres (295 ft) onto the track around 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast and was hit by a freight train.^[195]

In 1990, five loaded potash cars tumbled 67 metres (220 ft) into the river, and the main tower of a rail bridge was damaged.^[196]

In 2002, a driver died on crashing into a train at the railway crossing.^[197] In 2007, an individual who ignored the activated warning devices at the railway crossing sustained critical injuries when struck by an eastbound train.^[198]

The CN Spences Bridge passing track, which was 0.9 kilometres (2,973 ft) in 1916,^[199] has since been extended to 2.5 kilometres (8,340 ft).^[200]

^a . The twice weekly Kamloops–Boston Bar way-freight, introduced in 1932,^[209] is largely omitted from the Official Guide timetables.

During 1876–77, the Spences Bridge–Nicola wagon road was built.^[210]

The original CP construction work^[211] and the ongoing dumping of material from the tracks reduced the Lytton–Spences Bridge road to an unmaintainable trail.^[212] To bypass this obstacle, the circular route from Spences Bridge was via Ashcroft, Pavilion, the Marble Canyon, Lillooet, and Lytton.^[213][214]

In 1928, the rebuilt Lytton–Spences Bridge road was drivable but was not surfaced until the following year.^[215]

In 1931, Spences Bridge became a stop on the B.C. Rapid Transit Co new motor coach service from Vancouver to Kamloops.^[216] In 1934, B.C. Motor Coach took over the Merritt–Spences Bridge stage lines.^[217]

In 1945, Greyhound acquired the Spences Bridge–Princeton route from B.C. Motor Coach and cancelled the local Merritt–Spences Bridge service.^[218]

In 1960, when Greyhound abandoned the route, Nicola Stage took over but lasted only a year.^[219] In 1964, Pioneer Coach Lines reactivated the route.^[220]

In 1978, Currie Bus Lines introduced seven days a week service on the route.^[221]

In 1980, the Vancouver route via Spences Bridge was discontinued.^[222]

In 2012, one of the three daily Greyhound Vancouver–Kamloops services was eliminated.^[223]

Prior to Greyhound Canada ceasing all intraprovincial routes in 2018, an application the prior year included the removal of the Spences Bridge stop.^[224]

• Nicolas Coccola, (1854–1943), missionary, resident.^[225]
• James Teit, (1864–1922), ethnologist, resident.^[226]
• Stephen Tingley, (1839–1915), stagecoach principal, resident.^[227]
• Mark Sweeten Wade, (1858–1929), doctor and historian, resident.^[228]

In 2003, the elementary school closed.^[229] In 2006, the final gas station and adjacent Bridge Café closed.^[230] In 2007, the community hall centennial was celebrated^[231] and the Packing House restaurant opened.^[232]

In 2010, the first annual Desert Daze music festival was held.^[233] In 2012, the community club received government funding approval for upgrades to the Archie Clemes Community Hall.^[234] Installed in 2013 were a new furnace,^[235] new doors,^[236] insulation,^[237] new lighting,^[238] and a new stage.^[239] In 2018, the community applied for a grant to cover phase two of the Clemes Hall renovations.^[240] Installed in 2019 were new drywall, windows, and an outside gazebo.^[241]

The abundant summer runs of Thompson steelhead once attracted anglers from afar. From September until December, providing food, accommodation, and guiding services made Spences Bridge a bustling hub. In the 1980s, 2,000 to 3,000 fish spawned in the river. By 2018, the number had fallen to 250. To arrest the decline, the fishing season remained closed in 2008 and 2010. A bait ban and hook size regulation were introduced in 2014. A decade after the Sportsman Motel and restaurant closed the mounted signs remained towering beside the road. The Quarter Circle J had been renamed the Baits Motel^[242] but was only open intermittently. The Shell station burned down before the Sportsman closed.^[243]

In 2022, only 68 steelhead were expected to return to the Thompson River watershed, a migration facing an imminent threat to survival.^[244] In 2023, the hall received new flooring.^[245]

The Packing House accommodates the post office.^[246] A volunteer fire department exists.^[247]

• The Sweet Hereafter (1997).^[248]
• Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (2008).^[249]

Spences Bridge has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). The climate is very dry and mild by Canadian standards, with an average annual precipitation of just 263.7 mm (10.38 in) and low average snowfall of 30.4 cm (12.0 in) per year.^[250] Winters are short and moderately cold for usually brief periods and sunshine hours are very low for a couple of months, while summers are quite long, hot, sunny and dry – compared to the rest of Canada, albeit with comfortable nights. Like much of the lower-altitude valleys in the Thompson Nicola region, there are more days (on average approx. 40 days per year) when temperature exceeds 32 °C (90 °F) than remain below freezing.^[250]

Spences Bridge recorded Canada's second highest temperature on 29 June 2021, when it reached 48.6 °C (119.5 °F). The record is second only to Lytton, which recorded 49.6 °C (121.3 °F) on the same day. However, Lytton had 2 weather stations and one of them recorded a temperature 1 °C (1.8 °F) lower than the other at 48.6 °C (119.5 °F). The station that recorded the higher temperature was later deemed to be correct. Otherwise, Spences Bridge would have been tied with Lytton for the highest recorded temperature in Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spences Bridge.

• List of crossings of the Thompson River
• Cook's Ferry Indian Band

• Howay, Frederic William (1914). "British Columbia from the earliest times to the present". library.ubc.ca.
• Norton, Wayne; Schmidt, Wilf (1994). "Birch Island, History of a Hamlet". Reflections: Thompson Valley Histories. Plateau Press. ISBN 0-9698842-0-6.
• Smuin, Joe (2003). Kettle Valley Railway Mileboards. North Kildonan Publications. ISBN 0-9696971-2-0.