List of historical ships in British Columbia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

British Columbia, a beautiful province in Canada, has a long and exciting history of ships! From early Spanish explorers to busy steamships, many vessels have sailed its waters. This list tells you about some of the most important and interesting ships that were part of BC's story, from the time of early exploration up to the end of World War II in 1945. These ships helped explore the coast, trade furs, carry people and goods, and connect communities.

Amazing Ships of British Columbia
- Early Explorers and Traders
- Steamships and Inland Waterways
  - Famous Sternwheelers
  - Other Notable Steamships
See also

Amazing Ships of British Columbia

Early Explorers and Traders

Many different ships visited the coast of British Columbia in the late 1700s and early 1800s. They came from Spain, Britain, and the United States, often looking for valuable furs, especially sea otter pelts.

Spanish Ships

The Activo was a Spanish brigantine built in 1792. It was first a schooner named Activa and was used for important diplomatic trips.
The Aranzazu was a Spanish frigate that explored and surveyed the coast around 1789-1795.
The Atrevida and its twin, the Descubierta, were Spanish corvettes launched in 1788. They were part of a big scientific expedition that explored the Pacific Northwest in 1791.
The Concepción was a Spanish frigate that helped guard Fort San Miguel in 1790 and 1791.
The Favorita was a Spanish frigate that sailed to Alaska in 1779.
The Mexicana and its sister ship, the Sutil, were small Spanish schooners built in 1791. They explored Vancouver Island in 1792.
The Princesa was a very important Spanish warship. It was used a lot for exploring the Pacific Northwest and supplying Alta California (which is now part of the USA).
The San Carlos was a Spanish packet ship that reached Unalaska, Alaska in 1788. It also helped discover San Francisco Bay.
The Santiago was a Spanish ship that explored the Pacific Northwest in 1774 and found the mouth of the Columbia River in 1775.

British Trading Vessels

The Argonaut was a British ship that was taken by Spain during the Nootka Crisis, a big disagreement over land and trading rights.
The Beaver was a famous sidewheeler owned by the HBC. It was used for fur trading and military purposes from 1836 to 1888, when it unfortunately wrecked near Stanley Park.
The Butterworth was part of a group of British fur trading ships in the 1790s.
The Captain Cook was a British brig that explored and named Queen Charlotte Sound in 1786.
The Imperial Eagle was a large British ship that pretended to be Austrian to get around trade rules. It was the first ship to sail up the western shore of Oahu. Frances Barkley, the captain's wife, was the first European woman to visit and write about British Columbia.
The Iphigenia Nubiana was another British fur trading ship that pretended to be Portuguese. It was also taken during the Nootka Crisis.
The King George and the Queen Charlotte were British fur trading ships that explored the Pacific Northwest in 1786-1787. The Queen Charlotte gave its name to the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii).
The North West America was the first non-Indigenous ship built in the Pacific Northwest, launched in 1788. It was taken by Spain during the Nootka Crisis.
The Prince of Wales was a British fur trading ship that sailed in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1780s and early 1790s.
The Sea Otter was the first British ship to visit the Northwest Coast since Captain Cook. It was involved in the first purely commercial fur trading trip between the Pacific Northwest and China in 1785.

American Trading Vessels

The Adventure was the first American ship built in the Pacific, constructed in Clayoquot Sound in 1791-1792.
The Alexander (1796 ship) visited Nahwitti in northern Vancouver Island in 1800, starting a long trading relationship between Americans and the Kwakwaka'wakw people.
The Ann was an American brig that traded along the Northwest Coast in 1819 and 1823.
The Atahualpa made four trips to the Northwest Coast. In 1805, its captain and 8 men were lost in an attack in Milbanke Sound.
The Boston was seized in 1803 by Maquinna, a Nuu-chah-nulth chief. Most of its crew were lost, but two survivors, John Thompson and John R. Jewitt, were later rescued. Jewitt's story of his time as a captive is very famous.
The Columbia Rediviva was the first American ship to explore the Columbia River in 1792. It often sailed with the Lady Washington.
The Despatch (ship) made four voyages to the Northwest Coast. In 1795, it rescued the only survivor of another ship, the Resolution, whose crew had been lost.
The Eleanora was one of the first American ships on the Northwest Coast. It was later captured and lost by the Haida.
The Eliza was involved in some conflicts with Indigenous groups in 1799.
The Fair American was taken by Spain during the Nootka Crisis but later returned. It was attacked by Native Hawaiians in revenge for a past event.
The Grace sailed under the US flag but had no official registration. It made the first American contact with Japan in 1791.
The Hancock was the first US vessel to enter Masset Sound in 1791. Its crew built the first European-style vessel in Haida Gwaii.
The Hope (1789 brigantine) was a fur trading ship. In 1791, its captain made copper neckrings for trade, which were very popular and profitable for a short time.
The Juno (merchant ship) made two fur trading trips to the Northwest Coast. In 1803, it tried to rescue the survivors of the Boston.
The Katherine was used for fur trading and sealing. In 1811-1812, it worked with the Russian-American Company to hunt sea otters in California.
The Lady Washington was the first US ship known to sail from port specifically for the Northwest Coast. It was lost in the Philippines in 1797.
The Lydia (brig) rescued John R. Jewitt and John Thompson, the survivors of the Boston, in 1805.
The Manchester had a sad event in 1801 when seven of its crew deserted at Nootka Sound and were later lost by the Nuu-chah-nulth people.
The Margaret was a very early American fur trading ship. Its captain brought a large collection of Northwest Coast "curiosities" back to Boston.
The Mentor made three fur trading trips and helped start the California Trade for its owners.
The Mercury (merchant ship) made one of the longest fur trading voyages, lasting from 1806 to 1813.
The New Hazard (ship) was known for its captain, who was said to be very harsh.
The O'Cain was the first ship to bring Indigenous hunters from Alaska to California to hunt sea otters, even though it was not allowed by the Spanish.
The Otter was involved in a sad event in 1796 when its captain and some crew were lost by the Haida at Cumshewa.
The Owhyhee was one of the last American fur trading ships. It also brought pickled Pacific salmon to Boston.
The Pedler (ship) was involved in many events, including being sold to the Pacific Fur Company and being taken by both Spanish and Russian forces for illegal trading.
The Tonquin was a ship owned by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company. It was involved in building Fort Astoria but was later captured and destroyed in Clayoquot Sound in 1811.
The Ulysses (merchant ship) experienced a crew disagreement in 1799, which was later resolved.
The Union was attacked by the Haida in 1795, and their chief was lost.

Steamships and Inland Waterways

As British Columbia grew, steamships became very important for moving people and goods, especially on the province's many lakes and rivers.

Famous Sternwheelers

The Alpha was a steam launch used on the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River during the building of the CPR.
The RMS BC Express was a large sternwheeler launched in 1912 and retired in 1920.
The RMS B.X. was another sternwheeler launched in 1910. It sank in 1919 but was salvaged.
The MV Charlotte was launched in 1896 and wrecked in 1910 at Fort George Canyon.
The MV Chilco was the first sternwheeler to travel through the Grand Canyon of the Fraser. It was lost in an ice jam in 1911.
The City of Ainsworth was a sternwheeler that sank in a storm on Kootenay Lake in 1898, with 9 lives lost. Its wreck is now a heritage site.
The Columbia provided service on the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River.
The MV Conveyor worked on both the GTP and PGE rail construction projects.
The MV Enterprise was the first sternwheeler on the upper Fraser River and one of only two to travel to Takla Lake.
The MV Fort Fraser was the first sternwheeler to travel the upper Fraser River all the way to Tête Jaune Cache.
The Forty-Nine was used during the Big Bend Gold Rush and later for CPR surveys.
The Hazelton operated on the Skeena River from 1901 to 1912 until the railway made it unnecessary.
The Inlander was the last sternwheeler on the Skeena River.
The Kootenai was used for CPR construction in the 1880s.
The Mount Royal was built in Victoria in 1902 and wrecked in Kitselas Canyon in 1907, with six lives lost.
The SS Moyie is very special! Launched in 1898, it was the last passenger sternwheeler to operate in Canada, serving for nearly 60 years. It is now a National historic site in Kaslo and is the world's oldest surviving intact passenger sternwheeler.
The MV Nechacco was another name for the Chilco.
The Omineca was used on the Skeena River for railway construction.
The MV Operator also worked on both the GTP and PGE rail construction.
The MV Quesnel was the last sternwheeler on the upper Fraser River. It wrecked in 1921.
The MV Robert C Hammond was launched in 1913.
The Skeena was the last sternwheeler on the lower Fraser River.
The MV Skuzzy was the first sternwheeler to reach Lytton on the Fraser River, navigating a very difficult section of the river.
The MV Victoria was built in Quesnel in 1868.

Other Notable Steamships

The Abyssinia was one of the first CPR liners, chartered from Cunard, and set a TransPacific record in 1887.
The Cariboo had a tragic end in 1861 when it exploded leaving Victoria harbour, causing the loss of 7 lives.
The Colonel Moody is another ship on the list.
The Cowlitz was an HBC ship used for trade on the Pacific Northwest coast.
The Cutch was the first successful passenger ship for the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia.
The Dryad and Eagle were also HBC ships used for trade.
The RMS Empress of Japan was a famous ocean liner that held the trans-Pacific speed record until 1914. Its successor, the RMS Empress of Japan (later renamed), was also a large ocean liner.
The Fort Yale also had a boiler explosion in 1861, causing its demise.
The Flying Dutchman made the first lumber shipment from Burrard Inlet in 1863.
The Labouchere was an HBC paddle steamer that sank off California in 1866.
The Lady of the Lake was used during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.
The Lama was another HBC ship.
The Mary Dare was a brig later converted to a brigantine, used by the Hudson's Bay Company.
The USS Massachusetts was a US Navy screw steamer involved in the Puget Sound War in 1855-1856. It was the first steam vessel to fall prey to Ripple Rock in 1875.
The Meg Merrilies transported loggers and oxen to Port Neville and carried coal between Nanaimo and Victoria.
The Otter was another HBC steamship.
The Pacific was a US steamship that sank after a collision off Cape Flattery, with a great loss of life.
The SS Prince Rupert was a coastal passenger service ship that had a near-disaster at Ripple Rock in 1927.
The SS Princess Sophia was a Canadian Pacific steamship that tragically sank in Lynn Canal in 1918 during the Klondike Gold Rush, resulting in a significant loss of life.
The St. Roch was a famous Canadian ship of the RCMP that made the first voyage through the Northwest Passage.
The USS Saranac was a US Navy sloop of war that was lost at Ripple Rock in 1875.
The Sea Bird is the namesake of Sea Bird Island.
The Sophia was a US ship involved in a passenger disaster during the Klondike Gold Rush.
The Thames City brought the second group of Royal Engineers to British Columbia in 1859.
The Umatilla was a paddle steamer used during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and Cariboo Gold Rush.
The Vancouver was an HBC barque that was the first to sail directly from London to Victoria in 1845.
The William and Ann was an HBC ship that was lost in 1829.