Dome Creek, between Penny and Crescent Spur on the southwest side of the Fraser River in central British Columbia, provides a year-round destination for hiking, hunting, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. The scattered community of about 40 permanent residents clusters the railway line and the actual creek (crossed by its own road and rail bridges). The creek and town are similarly named after Dome Mountain. The recreational facility, which occupies the former school building, houses the community hall, a public library and a museum, with a small rustic post office nearby. The visitor centre (former library) stands at the front of the lot occupied by the former community hall. (Content specific to Bend or Kidd is contained in those articles.)
Transportation A trackside signpost marks the flag stop for Via Rail's Jasper – Prince Rupert train. The immediate Via Rail stops are Bend to the northwest and Loos to the southeast.
When Greyhound cancelled this route in 2018, this scheduled bus stop closed. BC Bus North, the replacement operator,Prince George Citizen, 29 May 2018 runs non-stop between Prince George and McBride.
History Railway The creek mouth was from Fort George via the Fraser.Fort George Herald: 21 Jan 1911; 15 Apr 1911; 20 May 1911; & 3 to 24 Jun 1913 Dome Creek has historically described both a specific place and the general area several miles on either side, such as Mile 141,Fort George Herald, 30 Aug 1913 or Mile 142.Fort George Tribune: 2 & 9 Aug 1913Fort George Herald: 17 & 31 May 1913 With river access to bring in labour and supplies, the vicinity may have comprised 2,000 workers housed in construction camps stretching from Mile 141 to 146. Foley, Welch and Stewart (FW&S) was the prime contractor for the Mountain Section. However, owing to unprecedented low water limiting navigation, FW&S's larger boats remained berthed from early winter, 1911, to spring, 1913.Fort George Herald, 21 Sep 1912 Cement supplies for the bridge were stranded at the Goat River Rapids, awaiting sleigh transportation once winter arrived.Fort George Herald, 28 Sep 1912 The concrete for the bridge's east abutment was poured before the end of 1912.Fort George Herald, 30 Nov 1912 During spring 1913, the west abutment was completed.Fort George Herald, 3 May 1913 When the river thawed, the FW&S boats were launched to bring supplies from the railhead base at Tête Jaune.Fort George Herald, 10 May 1913
The low-level Dome Creek and Hansard railway bridges curtailed the previous steamboat navigation.Fort George Herald, 28 Jun 1913 The railway started construction, despite not having received approval from Ottawa's Board of Railway Commissioners with respect to their height clearances, which triggered a response by the Barnard steamboat organization. The Dome Creek bridge crosses the Fraser at Mile 56.7, Fraser Subdivision (formerly about Mile 146, though contemporary articles inadvertently quoted instead the camp locations at Mile 145,Fort George Herald: 4 Oct 1913 & 3 Dec 1913 or Mile 142).Fort George Herald: 30 Nov 1912; & 3 & 17 May 1913 A temporary wooden trestle carried the track until the steel bridge's completion.Fort George Tribune, 9 Aug 1913
The Bates & Rogers Construction Co. were the contractors for the bridge substructure (piers and abutments) and the Canadian Bridge Co. for the superstructure (steelwork). By August, the steel bridge girders were being installed, and the railway tracks had been laid from Mile 53 (Tête Jaune) to Mile 138, and then Mile 142. The Railway Commission having handed over control to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP) to operate this section, their first passenger arrived at Mile 141 that month. Their directive for a drawbridge reversed, the Railway Commission sanctioned the low-level bridge, which by October was nearing completion.Fort George Herald, 4 Oct 1913
During construction, small seven-ton locomotives operated on the temporary narrow gauge (24-inch) track laid in advance of the permanent track. A surviving example exists in the Prince George Railway & Forestry Museum. When one such locomotive sank into the muskeg nearby, a second one also sank while trying to extract it. At least one of these is believed to be preserved in the bog.Prince George Citizen, 27 Jan 1984 (48) The location included a water tower and wye. An alighting passenger,Prince George Citizen, 18 Nov 1921 and the laying of a 10-foot wide cinder sidewalk for passengers that winter,Prince George Leader, 13 Jan 1922 suggest a 1921 opening date for the station nestled between Bend to its northwest, and Kidd to its southeast.
Pumpman John (Jack) E. (1876–1941) & Lottie Brennan, who arrived in 1915, were part of the community's social circle.Prince George Leader: 15 Feb 1923 & 1 Mar 1923Prince George Citizen, 2 Feb 1933 Retiring in 1940 after 25 years as pumpman, he died before receiving his first superannuation cheque.Prince George Citizen: 9 Jan 1941 & 6 Feb 1941 A guard, who was presumably armed, defended the crossing during World War II.Prince George Citizen, 13 Aug 1942 SpeedersPrince George Citizen, 29 Sep 1975 or railway cars provided the only transport for medical emergencies, but often it came too late.Prince George Citizen, 27 Jan 1984 (40) Trains sometimes struck straying livestock.Prince George Citizen, 28 Jan 1943
When the Prince George-McBride way freights, coming from opposite directions, passed at Dome Creek during the 1950s, there was a sufficient break for passengers to change trains. In 1985, a derailment occurred at Mile 55.Prince George Citizen: 27 Nov 1985 to 5 Dec 1985 The station building, which was opened, closed and cleaned daily until the early 1990s,Prince George Citizen, 16 Oct 1992 went in 1996.Prince George Free Press, 21 Jan 1996 In 2000, the section crew relocated.Prince George Citizen, 5 May 2001 The present flag stop location appears established.
Service c.1921–1931 1932–c.1939 c.1940–c.1958 c.1959–1965 1965–1966 1966–1967 1967–1977 1977–present 1922 Timetable: Northern BC Archives Prince George Citizen: 12 & 19 Nov 19311933 Timetable: Northern BC Archives 1943 Timetable: Northern BC Archives 1960 Timetable: Northern BC Archives1964 Timetable: Northern BC Archives 1965 Timetable: Northern BC Archives 1967 Timetable: Northern BC Archives1968 Timetable: Northern BC Archives1972 Timetable: Northern BC Archives1973 Timetable: Northern BC Archives 1990 Timetable: Northern BC Archives1992 Timetable: Northern BC ArchivesRecent timetables Passenger Flag stop Regular stop Flag stop Regular stop Flag stop Regular stop Flag stop Way freight Flag stop Regular stop Regular stop Regular stop Regular stop Regular stop
Assumedly, a remeasurement confirmed the station was closer to Mile 55.6
Pioneer Community Dome Creek, an ideal location for timber, tourists and hunting, developed possibly as more than one settlement,Fort George Herald: 18 Mar 1911, 22 Jul 1911, 5 Aug 1911 & 16 Dec 1911 that ultimately consolidated westward at its present location. Over time, both the industrial and railway infrastructure moved in that direction. James O. Kendall, manager of Upper Fraser Lumber Co. , was the inaugural postmaster 1916–19.
John (Jack) W. Carneski (1893–1975), who remained single, operated his mixed farm until death immediately east of Dome Creek on the north half of Lot 3275.Prince George Citizen, 29 Sep 1961 Claiming a 1911 arrival,Prince George Citizen, 6 Feb 1968 the first record of his presence was 1924.Prince George Citizen, 9 Oct 1924 Among the few remaining pioneers in the vicinity,Prince George Citizen, 26 Aug 1958 he outlived James B. Hooker (1884–1955) of Bend and Ernest H. Jensen (1890–1966) of Kidd.
By 1920, Mr. Bremner ran a store.Prince George Citizen, 14 May 1920 Rancher James (Jimmy) Stewart (1883–1960)Prince George Citizen, 21 Jul 1960 opened a billiard parlour, barber shop,Prince George Citizen, 4 Jun 1919 restaurant, and later, a store.Prince George Leader, 23 Nov 1922 He was postmaster 1920–25, a role commonly performed by a storeowner in such towns. Andrew Stewart (1898–1941),Prince George Citizen, 27 Nov 1941 his brother, who assisted in the store, was postmaster 1925–26. James moved and opened a store in Snowshoe. Farmer William Reade (probably c.1876–1944) ran a general store, and was postmaster 1927–31.
Arriving in 1917, T. Francis (Frank) (1881–1951) and Chris (1892–1979) Gleason were pioneers to the area, who had left America to escape the World War I draft.Prince George Citizen, 8 Feb 1993 The brothers were prospectors, trappers,Prince George Citizen, 15 Jul 1921 and supply agents for fox breeding.Prince George Citizen: 6 & 27 Aug 1925 During the 1932/33 winter, Chris shot a big timber wolf prowling near the school, one of numerous sightings around the community.Prince George Citizen, 16 Feb 1933 Purchased from Stewart in 1927, their general store existed longest.Prince George Citizen: 14 Sep 1933, 25 Apr 1940; 15 Oct 1942; 25 Nov 1943 to 16 Dec 1943; 16 Aug 1945; & 21 Dec 1950 They were fined for exceeding the controlled prices during World War II.Prince George Citizen, 25 Oct 1945 After Frank died, Chris operated the store until its sale in 1957. Frank was postmaster 1937–51.
Margaret (?–1953)Prince George Citizen, 7 May 1953 & Henry (1884–1978) Miller, known for his teams of horses, settled in Dome Creek in the 1910s. In 1919, while Henry was picking blackberries, his uncle rescued him from a vicious bear mauling. A year later, at his trial for burning O.B.U. mail, he was acquitted.Prince George Citizen, 26 Mar 1920 In 1922, the family relocated to west of McBride,Prince George Leader, 31 Mar 1922 where they ran a dairy farm.Prince George Citizen, 12 May 1938 On selling this property to Nance Lumber , he returned to Dome Creek as a logging contractor.Prince George Citizen, 29 Jan 1948 He remained a residentPrince George Citizen: 14 Sep 1950, 8 Mar 1951, 16 Apr 1953, 8 Apr 1965 & 3 Jun 1966 until death. Their son James (1914–75) was postmaster 1951–?.
The school opened in 1918, with Malcolm Humphrey Rae as the inaugural teacher. In the early years, some community dances (often farewell functions) were held in the schoolhouse.Prince George Citizen: 4 & 11 Jun 1919, 12 Jul 1923 & 15 Sep 1932Prince George Leader: 21 Dec 1922 & 1 Mar 1923 After the railway construction phase, the population dwindled to 150 (which included 18 farmers) by 1921, and to 100 by 1927, revised to 125 by 1929.
Henry (usually stated as Harry) (1883–1973) & Martha Alice (1886–1965) Robinson homesteaded around 1920. Their children were Nora (c.1910–?), Sheila (c.1911–1995), Montgomery (Montie) (1912–90), Kathleen (1913–82), William (Bill) (1917–96), Myrtle (c.1919–2014), Eileen (1920–92), Patricia (Pat) Ann, Mary M., Lyona (1925–2012), and Iona (1925–82).