History of Ferry Island
The pioneers remember
Ferry Island in 1911 having two sets of ferries, with the Thornhill side having
a permanent ferryman living in a home on the island. The other ferryman lived in Terrace near the Skeena River
banks on Ferry Road, now called Haugland Avenue.
Walter Wright and his family were native Indians and in 1911 were living
on the island. Walter was a
well-known riverboat pilot. A
pilot’s job was to read the water for the riverboat captain.
Brenten Kenney, with
his wife and three children came to Terrace from the construction town of
Kitselas in 1911. Brenten was a
brother of E.T. Kenney who became M.L.A. for the District in the 1930’s.
Brenten Kenney had the job of running the ferry to the island from
Terrace side over what was commonly known as “The Slough”.
One morning in the fall of
1913, while Brenten was making the early morning trip over to the island to pick
up Miss Pearson, who taught school in the Terrace Presbyterian Church, a snag
caught the ferry and as Mr. Kenney worked to free the log, he fell into the icy
water and was swept downstream to his death. He left his wife Belle and three children, Elsie, Gladys and
Orville.
That same year of 1913,
construction was started on a bridge over the slough. It was a wooden bridge on pilings with a truss top.
This bridge was well used until July 21, 1925 when the Skeena Bridge at
the Little Canyon was completed. For
the next few years the slough bridge was used mainly as a logging bridge.
Logging played a big part in the history of the island.
Huge trees were hauled in to the local mills and some were exported.
Local people enjoyed using the logged over areas for berry picking and
picnics.
The ferryman Pete McDonald
stayed in the house on Ferry Island until 1928 when the Hamer family moved in
and farmed a small area. Edmund
Hamer was also a prospector in the area. Fire
razed the island in 1932. The
Hamers tried unsuccessfully to rebuild and in 1935 moved off the island.
They were the last family
to reside on Ferry Island because the bridge was taken out by the High Water in
the Skeena Flood of 1936. At that
time eight feet of water covered the island.
After the flood the island
was left to grow back in beautiful stands of birch and cottonwood trees.
Mamie Kerby, 1984